Ryder whips up a storm

THE UK has had some very bad Eurovision nights; not least last year, when James Newman’s Embers got nul points. However that’s all set to change with social media sensation Sam Ryder, 32, who will be giving a characteristically big performance of Space Man — all hair, teeth and falsetto — at this year’s event in Turin.

Ryder, from Maldon in Essex, became famous during lockdown for his exuberant covers on TikTok, where he goes by @samhairwolfryder. He has more than 12 million followers and 101 million likes, including from pop stars Justin Bieber and Sia. He says: ‘My goal is to sing with the same intention I always sing with, then come away with the joy that it has given me.’ Louis Walsh, who mentored Johnny Logan to two wins for Ireland, tells me: ‘Eurovision is going to be great for the UK. You could win! The only thing that could go wrong is Ukraine might win all the votes, for obvious reasons.’

Ryder is just behind Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra in the betting (at 11/2). The final is live on BBC1 from 8pm on Saturday.