He rose to fame on X-Factor UK and has since spun his fifteen minutes of fame into a successful TV presenting career. And now Rylan has a new credit for his resume: Commentating on the Semi-Finals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.
The BBC has confirmed through its Eurovision social media channels that Rylan will replace outgoing commentator Mel Giedroyc. Rylan’s new role follows his appearance as a judge on Eurovision: You Decide in February.
?? Presenting our 2018 dream team! @Grahnort hosts the Grand Final on @BBCOne. Fresh from You Decide, we welcome @Rylan! He joins @scott_mills on @BBCFour for the semi-finals. Revealing the UK results? It's #MelGiedroyc while @RealKenBruce broadcasts #Eurovision @BBCRadio2 ? pic.twitter.com/VixdYEUD90
— BBC Eurovision (@bbceurovision) March 29, 2018
In a tweet from his own account, Rylan described the gig as a “dream come true” and said that he’s “excited” to join the BBC Eurovision family. The reality TV star joins continuing semi-final commentator Scott Mills, who has covered the semis since 2011.
Very excited to say I’m joining the @bbceurovision family alongside @grahnort and @scott_mills and will be a Semi Finals commentator in Lisbon. Dream come true mate. ??#Eurovision pic.twitter.com/9rCCFmLyNc
— Rylan Clark-Neal (@Rylan) March 29, 2018
Comedian, radio DJ and television host Graham Norton remains as the commentator for the grand final on May 12. Norton has been the UK Grand Final commentator since 2009, when he took over from veteran commentator Terry Wogan.
Mel Giedroyc may not be commentating, but she will still be involved in the contest. This year she’ll be the UK’s spokesperson and reveal the votes of the UK professional jury.
This is the first major shakeup in the UK commentary lineup since 2015. Rylan becomes Scott Mills’ fifth co-presenter, following Mel, Irish TV presenter Laura Whitmore, Scissor Sisters frontwoman Ana Matronic and Radio DJ Sara Cox. Rylan and Scott will cover the semis on BBC4 on May 8 and May 10.
SURIE’S SUMMER TOUR AND ACADEMY AWARD WIN
Some artists approach Eurovision as a one night only gig, others see it as a launchpad for a career. And judging by SuRie‘s summer tour announcement, homegirl falls into the latter camp.
The “Storm” singer has announced a seven-date summer tour through her Twitter page, including a date in the UK capital London:
• BIG NEWS •BIG NEWS •
UK folk, if you can't make it to Lisbon,
I'll be taking my face on tour!Tickets available NOW
• https://t.co/gGjE3zOnsj • pic.twitter.com/iSZbrgAk24— SuRie (@surieofficial) March 26, 2018
On top of which, she’s received Royal Academy of Music Honours, which are awarded annually to outstanding musicians. SuRie was named Associate of the Royal Academy for her contribution to musical theatre.
Truly honoured to have been honoured in the Royal Academy of Music honours!
For services to Eurovision you may now call me Dame SuRie ? https://t.co/5BJw9VOgy5
— SuRie (@surieofficial) March 26, 2018
The UK Eurovision act graduated from the Academy in the same discipline.
What do you think of the lineup? Were you impressed by Rylan’s appearance on Eurovision: You Decide? Let us know in the comments below!
I hate everything about the BBC’s coverage of the semi finals so any change would be welcome. It would be nice if we had presenters with some actual knowledge of the contest!
Can we dump Graham Norton already? He’s horribly unfunny and often just flat out mean.
P.S. There is always the option to watch the contest without the commentary.
He’s the best thing about the BBC’s coverage!
Whaaaaa? He’s totally the best! aha! Are you from the Uk? I guess maybe I would understand more if you werent..
Hideous. All 3 of them .
Happy with Dylan but I’d much sooner they dropped Scott. He’s always a bit too sarcastic for my taste. My favourite presenter of recent times was Ana Matronic who really seemed to enjoy the experience and to be able to make a joke without undermining the show or contestants.
You know, I’ve had a bad day today. I’ve been sick waiting to know the semi final running order and now I get this news?
Well at least we don’t have to put up with Simon Proctor being all “Eurovision should be filled with rubbish party songs … being good is boring”. But the whole UK/BBC mentality towards Eurovision (even before the new millenium) was shady and looking down on every single European country as if the UK was the only nation worthy of music delivery and every time they got #2 in the competition they felt infuriated. A paradox of loving something for being bad and hating it for the same reason. Result? Nobody is interested in their entries .. especially when you have… Read more »
Terry Wogan still better for me than Rylan so im dissagre
Will be tuning in to all 3 shows on the Eurovision stream this year. Disappointed in the BBC replacing Mel. Get shot of Scott! Talks over everything and gets his facts wrong frequently! Between this and the Wogan-lite commentary in the final, it’s not worth suffering the BBC coverage.
Personally I feel like they replaced the wrong one…. Scott Mills has little to no respect for the contest and I’ve never particularly rated him as a presenter. I think Rylan would be excellent as he’s incredibly personable; him in combination with Mel would be fantastic as our Semi-Final commentators.
But please BBC stop with the silly cut away skits that do absolutely nothing; show us the interval acts and the show that RTP want to give us. (I’m still bitter the UK audience didn’t get to see “The Grey People” from the semis in Stockholm ?)
Bwexitews galoe
Off topic: GUYS, Non mi avete fatto niente new version is out!
Jeez, what a stupid move. She is possibly one of the funniest TV faces in Europe, and she’s got 3 min of tv time. Sad.
Mel and Scott were fun together. I enjoyed those skits that they did during commercial breaks. Perhaps Mel is too busy with other projects now? anyways I think Rylan will be great. He was pretty constructive on the You Decide show. Let’s see how he’ll do as a commentator.
We need someone more serious than Rylan. He is a little too cliche and despite being a fan, isn’t that knowledgeable about the contest. I’d like to see Ana Matronic take over from Graham.
I expect Rylan will be excellent, he has shut many naysayers down in the past with his performances. Must admit, they can replace Scott Mills as soon as they want to, never rated him in the semis. Bring back Paddy! Good luck to all on the night and FYRM, where did you get this year’s gem from? Song of the year by far ?
Really odd (but in a good way) Rylan now has done work for 3 major UK channels (ITV, now BBC, and Channel 5). He must have a GOOD agent.
I’ll miss Mel. I always laughed when she spoke in a Dutch accent.
I will miss Mel. She is so funny. Five seconds as spokesperson is not enough!
I’m sure it was her own choice, of course, but still, I’m disappointed.
I disagree. Terry Wogan & Graham Norton were/are arguable BBC’s biggest stars during their tenure. I’m not saying whomever is next will necessarily be in that league, but I don’t think Rylan would be granted a primetime Saturday night slot considering he doesn’t even work at the BBC. His television career has almost exclusively been on other TV channels. An outside contender perhaps, but certainly not a “shoo-in”. I also wonder how long Graham will continue in the role. He seems to really enjoy it, but this year will be his 10th, which seems like a good number to stop.… Read more »
He seems to genuinely enjoy it, and one week a year to cover the grand final isn’t that much in the way of travel. Terry got a lot less pleasure out of it in his later years and he still made the trip.
Perhaps, though it was Russia’s victory that sealed his decision to quit – “I am not going to Moscow”, he thought (I imagine).
If Israel win this year, I can see Graham being uncomfortable with travelling to such a security risk hotspot. It could easily influence his decision to stay on.
All of this is pure speculation on my part, I stress. I hope he stays for years more.
I can’t reply to you due to technical website issues. Sorry Jonas. I tried six times.
Aw, I’m interested to see what you have to say, but thanks for trying! 🙁
Weird how I can see your test posts. Frustrating.
There’s something about the way i’m phrasing it. Still haven’t figured it out.
Ah, something in part 1 was offensive to the filters.
Thanks Robyn.
(Part 1 cut)
2. Scott Mills should naturally take over from Graham once Graham decides to move on, I would have thought.
3. If no-one else wants to do it, give the job to Wiwi’s William and Deban. They’re born to do it.
Part 1 was to do with broadcasting deals. Rylan could be bringing the show to another station, long term.
Yeah, but he went to Moscow and Baku, which aren’t the safest either.
This is a test reply. (Multiple bounces)
I’m slightly surprised to see Rylan replacing Mel as Scott’s co-commentator for the semis, but following his performance on You Decide – which I was very impressed with – I’m sure he’ll do an excellent job. As much as I love Mel, I just get this vibe that she tries too hard, and isn’t necessarily the best fit for Eurovision. Plus her constant referring to Eurovision as ‘Eurovish’ annoyed me.
Mel is really hilarious off-camera, but overall I agree with you. As she might say, perhaps her act was “one step out of time”? 😛
“Eurovish” never failed to make me laugh!
Rylan is an outstanding presenter and TV personality, so Robyn Gallagher (below) is probably right. 🙂
About the SuRie UK tour – yaas! Fantastic, all UK fans should gather in London again. Or Redditch. Or Crewe, etc 🙂
Note: I played at the Wycombe Swan myself back in 1998! Coincidences abound.
I dunno if he has the status to do it alone, he might need a co-commentator but I do see what you mean
If I’m remembering right Rylan was praised as a judge on You Decide for knowing his stuff when it comes to Eurovision and taking it very seriously unlike others, whilst I agree Mel is funny, it’ll be nice to have someone who really respects Eurovision and hopefully doesn’t have the same dated view many Brits have of the contest
Don’t understand that logic- Scot’s great but Mel’s much funnier imo
As a Rylan fan since X-Factor I’m excited to see what he brings to the table in the semis!