Sophie Ellis-Bextor withdraws from UK Eurovision jury

Sophie Ellis-Bextor has withdrawn from the UK Eurovision jury due to “unforeseen circumstances”.

The singer had previously been announced as the chair of a panel of five music industry professionals.

However, the official BBC Eurovision Twitter account confirmed just before the first Eurovision 2019 semi-final that Ellis-Bextor would be replaced.

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“Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances, Sophie Ellis-Bextor will no longer be able to be part of the UK Eurovision jury and will be replaced in due course,” the message said.

Ellis-Bextor, who is famous for her hit song Murder on the Dancefloor, then sent a follow-up tweeting reassuring fans that she still loves the competition.

“I still love Eurovision!” she wrote. “Wishing all the participants a great show and good luck to the UK entry. Xxxx”

The other four members on the UK jury are Kylie Minogue’s musical director Pete Watson, radio DJ Adele Roberts, vocal coach Jai Ramage and singer AJ Bentley.

Each country’s jury is made up of five music industry professionals, who will score each entry according to the vocal capacity of the singer, the performance on stage, the composition and originality of the song and the overall impression of the act.

Jurors rank all entries except their own country's act. To find out more about how the Eurovision jury system works, check out our guide here.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 will air live on Saturday 18th May at 8pm on BBC1