Get the party started!

Ted Lasso's Hannah Waddingham co-hosts the Eurovision grand final from Liverpool

- ALISON SLADE, STEVEN PERKINS

LIVE! ENTERTAINMENT
Eurovision Song Contest
Saturday, 8pm, BBC1

Liverpool has a formidable legacy when it comes to popular music: The Beatles, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Atomic Kitten… So where better to stage Eurovision as it returns to the United Kingdom for the first time in 25 years?

The UK is hosting on behalf of Ukraine after Kalush Orchestra’s decisive victory with their song Stefania last year in Turin, where our own Sam Ryder finished as runner-up.

Twenty-six countries will be vying for the win in Saturday’s final, hosted by Britain’s Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon, Ted Lasso actor Hannah Waddingham, Ukrainian rock star Julia Sanina and long-serving UK commentator Graham Norton.

TV&Satellite Week caught up with Game of Thrones star Waddingham, 48, to find out how she’s feeling about this momentous occasion…

How did you react when you got the call to say you’d be hosting?

I presumed someone had dropped out! So it was really lovely that no one had.

Why did you want to do it?