Angela Scanlon: ‘I’m not trying to replicate Scott Mills on Eurovision’

Angela Scanlon has just taken over one of the biggest jobs on TV – but she’s surprisingly calm.

In late March, it was announced that long-time BBC broadcaster Scott Mills had been fired following allegations over his ‘personal conduct’, with attention quickly turning to who would take over not only his job on BBC Radio 2, but on Eurovision too.

After nearly a month of intense speculation, it was announced that Angela, 42, would be his replacement.

At the time, the Irish presenter said that it felt like she was ‘joining the greatest party on earth’, which was ‘equal parts thrilling and terrifying’.

Now, speaking in Vienna, Austria, while Eurovision 2026 is in full swing, she told Metro how it feels to have stepped into Scott’s shoes.

This week, the former Strictly star entered the Eurovision commentary box alongside Rylan Clark for the first time for the BBC’s coverage of the 2026 song contest.

We caught up at her hotel following the first semi-final, and ahead of the second, which is due to take place tonight and will see the UK’s act Look Mum No Computer perform for the first time.

‘I grew up listening to Terry Wogan commentating and then Graham Norton, so now to join Rylan alongside those people who have lived in my head and heart and little world for a long time is a big honour really. I was delighted,’ she tells us.

We have to address the elephant in the room – Scott’s absence from Eurovision. When we asked what it had been like taking over from him, Angela explained that she wanted to set herself apart.

‘I think when you step into anybody’s shoes… you just want to make it your own,’ she says.

‘No matter what job I have ever done, I am never trying to replicate a dynamic. I can do what I do, and hopefully that works.’

Although Angela has shied away from reading any feedback on her first night of commentating the contest – which was watched by 166 million people worldwide last year – her efforts have been called ‘superb’ by viewers.

She could have easily felt daunted by the prospect of it all – but she credited her new co-host Rylan with making her feel calm amidst the chaos.

‘He just welcomed me and was like, “Babe, you will take to it like a duck to water”. Which was his hope,’ she laughs.

‘He’s done it for eight years and is a dab hand. It is wonderful to sit beside him. We have a very easy rapport and spark off each other.

‘The team have also done it for years, so I felt in very safe hands and very prepared.’

Angela rose to prominence working on RTÉ before joining The One Show, co-hosting Robot Wars with Dara Ó Briain and competing on Strictly Come Dancing in 2023.

Growing up in Ireland during the country’s ‘glory days’, Angela remembers watching as her home country swept the contest with three wins from 1992-1994 – and then again in 1996.

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‘It was very central really and very family orientated, which I love and I think Eurovision has always had that appeal,’ she recalls.

‘I have these distinct memories of these iconic performers like Charlie McGettigan, Linda Martin, Johnny Logan and Niamh Kavanagh and Eimear Quinn,’ she adds, listing off a string of previous winners. ‘All of these people that were cemented in my childhood memories.’

Looking back at that time, Angela also remembered pulling part of the house apart with her three sisters so they could make scoreboards to rank the acts themselves.

‘Eurovision was really a staple for us in my family – I remember it being event TV. We didn’t have semis at that point – it was a one-night-only situation. We would take the shelves out of the wardrobe so we could do marker scoreboards. It has very warm memories for me,’ she said.

While Eurovision is famed for its quirky songs, attention-grabbing outfits and often bonkers acts, Angela says she’s taken the role of guiding UK viewers through the three nights very seriously.

‘Most people sit at home and listen to the song once, and that’s it – but these people have been gearing up for this for months and months and months. There’s campaigns and favourites and all of that,’ she says.

‘For me, it’s really important I have context. I’m not sitting there going, “Oh that’s a nice dress,” or “That’s a cute song”. I want to give it all the right level of respect.’

She adds: ‘It’s about finding the right tone between gently poking and prodding at slightly questionable outfits and also providing the facts.’

This year, five countries – including Ireland – are boycotting the contest over Israel’s ongoing inclusion.

So how does Angela feel about being a part of the broadcasting team for the BBC, when her home country has bowed out?

‘I think that’s a question for each broadcaster and the decisions they’ve made. Would I love to see them here? Absolutely,’ she replies.

Although Angela’s ‘probably not allowed to say’ who her favourites are this year, she did praise the UK entry’s Sam Battle – who is performing under the stage name Look Mum No Computer.

‘I am staggered by how Sam is taking it in his stride – I’ve never seen anything like it! I keep seeing him asking him if he’s had some rest or not. He has such a beautiful attitude to the whole thing,’ she says.

‘I think he feels like a really bold choice. He also has such quiet confidence and self-assuredness, which is quite contagious. People are singing his song around. I think his staging is really cool. I think he will give it his best shot – fingers crossed!’

Although Angela admits she’s the first to rush home early during a party, she has plans to fully immerse in the week-long celebration that is the Eurovision – including attending the famed EuroClub, the contest’s go-to club for partygoers after-hours.

‘I am usually sipping tea and in bed with an eye mask and lavender…However, I have warned to brace myself for EuroClub tomorrow,’ she shares.

‘It’s happening, and I am on an early flight home on Friday. Let’s see how that goes…’

The 2026 Eurovision Song Contest continues tonight, with the second Semi-Final airing from 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.

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