The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Former winner blames BBC for continual failure
Beeb condemned for championing ‘X Factor rejects’
The BBC is to blame for the UK’s dismal record in the Eurovision Song Contest, our most recent winner has claimed.
Katrina Leskanich, who won the competition 20 years ago with Love Shine A Light, launched a scathing attack on the broadcaster, saying its championing of former X Factor contestants was one of the reasons the UK did not stand a chance of winning.
This year’s UK entrant is an ex-competitor from the ITV talent show, Lucie Jones, who will perform Never Give Up On You in tonight’s final.
Five other former X Factor contestants were among hopefuls put forward by the BBC to compete in Kiev.
Leskanich told the Daily Telegraph: “A bunch of X Factor rejects? That just says it all. How horrible is that? Isn’t it just a colossal waste of money not to take it a bit more seriously, and try a little harder?”
Talking about the BBC choosing the representative internally from 2011 to 2015, she continued: “We kept choosing such terrible representatives that you just knew from the get-go they weren’t going to win.”
The 57-year-old also spoke about the decision to allow Australia to join in 2015. She said: “Why aren’t New Zealand in the contest? Why isn’t Canada? I think a lot of countries are going to wonder why they can’t be involved if Australia can.”