[gottago]

They’ll have to have some entertaining performances in this show to make it watchable for the wider public on BBC2, it’s a pretty dull affair altogether, it’s not even a running order draw any more!

That’s interesting, apparently he said that in October. Why not Rylan though?

escxtra.com 

“I don’t want to give up the commentating. If I stop the commentating, someone else will do it and they might be better than me and then I’ll lose that job …Well, I might wander on and wave, and then run back to my rabbit hutch and put my ear things on.”


From the quote given, it wouldn’t surprise me if you get a situation like 1998 with Graham on stage for the start and end with Rylan and AJ hosting throughout at least for the final. It’s a shame because Graham speaking to the spokesman directly during voting for the Eurovision Dance Contests was probably even better than him commentating on it.

I don’t think Rylan is good enough a presenter for it to be completely honest. He’s a great guy and decent spin off/daytime host but he’s rarely considered for primetime anymore. I can certainly see him having a big role in UK coverage in the run up to the show, and will presumably be doing the commentary for the semis with Scott, but don’t think we’ll see him doing more than that. 

Meanwhile AJ is very much the presenter of the moment and I can see her having a shot at the main gig. 

I don’t know if the Wogan style commentary + presenter role particularly suits the contest in 2023, and I’m not sure having Graham on screen at the start and end particularly adds much for the international audience. 

There was a suggestion in Ukrainian media last month that there would be four presenters - 2 British and 2 Ukrainian, with the possibility that it would be the female host of 2005 and the Ukrainian commentator and 2017 host Timor. No idea how reliable or accurate that might be.