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Eurovision dream for reality TV losers
Evening Standard Last updated at 16:55pm on 18.02.08Two runners-up from the BBC's Joseph and Maria talent searches are competing for Eurovision glory.
Rob McVeigh and Simona Armstrong are bidding to represent the UK at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade, Serbia, along with former EastEnder Michelle Gayle and X Factor's Andy Abraham.
McVeigh was a finalist in TV show Any Dream Will Do and earned the nickname "Rob the Builder" thanks to his former job as a construction worker.
Armstrong was one of Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's final 10 in How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?
A total of six acts will take part in the Eurovision - Your Decision programme next month on BBC1 and the winner will become the UK's official entry at the Song Contest in May.
The soloists are Michelle Gayle, who appeared as Hattie Tavernier in EastEnders and went on to enjoy a top 10 chart career in the 90s and Andy Abraham, who lost out to Shayne Ward in the 2005 X Factor final.
Two girl groups will also battle it out. Pop duo LoveShy consists of Aimee Kearsley and Emma Beard, formerly of Clea, a girl band made up of Popstars: The Rivals rejects.
Motown-inspired girl group The Revelations are the only entrants who do not owe their existence to a TV show.
The eventual winners will hope to do better than last year's contenders, Scooch, who finished a disastrous 22nd out of 24 with their song Flying The Flag.
The UK is taking the competition more seriously than Ireland, which has put forward a children's puppet called Dustin the Turkey as a possible entrant.
The BBC's Eurovision host Terry Wogan said: "A turkey is one of the contenders for this year's Irish entry. For the past few years, we've been picking a turkey for the UK.
"Let's hope that the British public will make the right decision this year and give the UK's entry a fighting chance against the Eastern Bloc in Belgrade in May."
