The United Kingdom made their Eurovision debut in 1957, after missing the cut-off point for the 1956 Contest. Since 1959, they've held the longest uninterrupted streak of participations in contest history. The United Kingdom is a member of the Big Five which enables direct qualification to the Grand Final.
The United Kingdom had nul points in 2003, with Jemini and their song Cry Baby, but despite that, they have come 2nd a record 15 times, and in the top 5 a record 29 times also. It has also hosted the contest 8 times - 4 of them by deferral from the previous winning nation (1960, 1963, 1972 and 1974) and 4 from winning (1968, 1977, 1982 and 1998).
Over the years, they have sent big and well-known names such as Shout singer Lulu, Cliff Richard, Grease's Olivia Newton-John, Black Lace (famous for Agadoo), Gina G, Katrina and The Waves (famous for Walking on Sunshine), Blue, and even Bonnie Tyler.
The Eurovision Song Contest has received a poor reputation in the United Kingdom after the country received Nul Points back in 2003, followed by a similarly poor string of results (excluding 2002 and 2009). During this time, they have sent novelty songs such as Flying the Flag (For You).
However, in recent years the BBC have asked up-and-coming singers and bands such as Molly Smitten-Downes and Joe & Jake to represent the nation.