How many times has the UK won Eurovision?

James Newman is our act in the Eurovision line-up this year and his song is called Embers. But if the bookies are to be believed, James' history with songwriting (he has written for Ed Sheeran amongst others) will not help him out as we are predicted another lowly result when the final results are tallied.

But to cast our eyes back to the past then, let's see how many times we have won in the history of the contest and when the last victory for us was - and it was quite some time ago now.

Read more:

• How does the Eurovision Song Contest work?
• What’s the best Eurovision song of all time?
• Who is performing in the Eurovision 2021 interval?

Who has won Eurovision from the UK?

Sandie Shaw - Puppet on a String (1967)

Sandie was our first-ever winner of the contest back in 1967 with her song Puppet on a String - it's still an absolute banger all these years later if you ask us. It took us a while to get our first victory as the contest originally began in 1956.

Lulu - Boom Bang-a-Bang (1969 as a joint winner with Spain, the Netherlands and France)

Our second win came a mere two years later, those were the days, but it was a bit of a complicated one as Eurovision had never counted on a tie - let alone a four-way one, and we ended up with four different countries emerging on top.

It was the Netherlands who ended up being the hosts for the contest in 1970 - presumably, it wasn't us as we had only just hosted the year before.

Brotherhood of Man - Save Your Kisses for Me (1976)

We had a few years to wait until our next big win and it was Brotherhood of Man that delivered the goods in 1976 with Save Your Kisses For Me. It's a super fun tune that is still enjoyable to listen to today - no wonder we won that year!

Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up (1981)

To many, this song defines Eurovision more than any other and it remains one of the most popular songs ever performed in the competition - it's just so darn catchy!

Bucks Fizz gave us our only win in the '80s with their 1981 victory and it would be quite the wait until we got another...

Katrina and the Waves - Love, Shine a Light (1997)

Our fifth and, to date, final Eurovision win was all the way back in 1997 and it was Katrina and the Waves and their song, Love, Shine a Light, that did the job.

So that means it has been 24 years since we last emerged on top of the pile when the Eurovision votes were counted and it would be fair to say that we have hardly been a powerhouse in the contest since.

Will 2021 finally be our year? Probably not, but it's fun to dream, if only for a moment, right?

The Eurovision Song contest 2021 will air on the BBC this May. Check out the full list of Eurovision winners here. If you're looking for something to watch tonight, check out our TV Guide.