A Scottish singer plucked from obscurity at the last minute to replace Olly Murs as the opening act for Take That in Glasgow has told Sky News he thought the life-changing opportunity was a “joke”.

Daniel Rooney, 26, was playing at the Radisson Red hotel opposite the OVO Hydro when news broke that Murs was forced to cancel his support act on Friday due to transport issues.

TV presenter Ross King, who was enjoying a family dinner at the hotel, was impressed with Mr Rooney’s vocals and recommended the singer to his friend and Take That frontman Gary Barlow.

With 30 minutes to go before the show was due to start, Mr Rooney was quickly whisked to the arena and opened the festivities with a range of upbeat cover songs.

Barlow later thanked him on Instagram.

Mr Rooney, from Cambuslang in South Lanarkshire, told Sky News he thought it was a wind-up at first.

He said: “I was thinking, ‘right, who’s trying to play a wee joke on me here’. But thankfully it wasn’t a joke and Ross King was saying, ‘I’ve got an opportunity of a lifetime here, Danny boy, so are you up for it?’

“And I was.”

Mr Rooney started to feel a mixture of emotions on his way to the stage. As well as excitement, he began to feel apprehensive about what he was going to play.

He said: “I was obviously buzzing just to get that news. It was just mental.

“I had a wee discussion with the boys from Take That, who were brilliant and really good with me.

“We just agreed on making it really fun and making the songs nice big singalongs.

“It was just really great. The crowd were brilliant, and they sang to every song and the feedback was magic.”

Mr Rooney paid tribute to Mr King for the opportunity and thanked him for his warm introduction onstage to explain the situation to the crowd.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr King said: “I was listening to [Mr Rooney] while I was having dinner and was very impressed – never thinking that 30 minutes later I’d be saying ‘come with me and support Take That’.

“Gary Barlow is one of my closest pals and I’ve known the band since 1990. When Gary called me and said ‘you’re going to have to go on, Olly is stuck in London’, I thought it was a wind-up. But no.”

Mr King agreed to go on, but then pitched the idea of Mr Rooney.

Mr King added: “Daniel was the coolest guy in the Hydro and played a blinder. I was thrilled to share the stage with him and help out my old mates too.

“I know this has made news all around the world, so I hope Daniel continues to have the success he deserves.”

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Mr Rooney now intends to head into the studio to record some music.

He added: “I’ve got some ideas and demos there, so this is the opportunity to get them out now and just really capitalise on the moment.”

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Murs apologised for cancelling his performance at short notice after falling foul of flight issues.

The former X Factor star said he had been at Heathrow from 11am ahead of his performance on Friday night, but the flight was cancelled after “several delays” and an accident with a cabin crew member.

He later shared a video of himself being driven to Glasgow for his Saturday and Sunday performances.

Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine programme on Monday, Murs paid tribute to Mr Rooney for holding his nerve and being able to perform in front of an arena crowd of thousands with just 30 minutes’ notice.

Murs said: “Fair play to him, that’s amazing. You know what, credit to him.”

The 68th Eurovision Song Contest is taking place in Malmo, Sweden, this year.

It’s a spiritual homecoming of sorts with Sweden’s supergroup Abba – who are the most famous band ever to come out of the contest – crowned the winners 50 years ago.

Loved and loathed in equal measure for its euro pop earworms, evocative power ballads, and eye-watering novelty acts, there’s no clear frontrunner for this year’s show – meaning it’s all to play for.

The political elephant in the room is of course Israel’s participation in light of the ongoing Gaza war, with many artists encouraged to boycott the event due to their participation.

As it stands, no act has withdrawn from the contest.

So, with 37 countries heading into the semi-finals ahead of a grand final featuring 26 songs on Saturday, who might we see take first place on the night?

The top three

Croatia is currently the country to beat, with Baby Lasagne (real name Marko Purisic) singing Rim Tim Tagi Dim.

The 28-year-old bleach-blonde frontman says the title doesn’t translate as anything, other than a catchy repeated riff, but a serious theme lies beneath the full-on performance.

The song describes the tension of young Croatians leaving their homeland to seek better opportunities abroad, through the character of a farm boy who leaves his home – and his cat – to become a “city boy”.

Another hot favourite is Switzerland, with Nemo singing The Code.

The 24-year-old non-binary performer draws on their childhood opera singing to pull together an impressive song which scales rap, rock, drum ‘n bass and classical opera.

The message in this one is self-acceptance and the freedom for each one of us to live our lives openly and without fear of judgement.

Meanwhile, a song that’s been growing in popularity is Ukraine’s Teresa & Maria sung by Alonya Alonya and Jerry Heil.

Alonya, 28, is a well-known rapper in Ukraine, while Heil, 32, found fame on YouTube and appeared on the country’s version of X-Factor.

Utterly hummable, the folk-inflected anti-war song paying tribute to Mother Theresa and the mother of Christ has a strong heritage and shares a songwriter with Kalush Orchestra’s winning 2022 entry Stefania.

In with a chance

Also in the running is Italy with Angelina Mango’s La Noia, which translates as “Boredom”.

The 23-year-old told Italian rock magazine Rockol that while boredom is often seen as a negative thing, she sees it as a time for self-discovery, adding: “Between a life of highs and lows and one of boredom, I will always choose one of highs and lows, but I will always leave myself time for boredom too.”

Meanwhile, Netherlands act Joost has by far the biggest earworm of the crop with Europapa – a song that will delight and infuriate in equal measure. Indeed, one early review of the song proclaimed it was so bad, it had the power to “put you off music forever”.

Despite the silliness of the happy hardcore-infused pop song and the OTT nature of his shoulder-pad-enhanced performance, 26-year-old singer Joost Klein had a heartbreaking inspiration for the song – the loss of both his parents by age 13.

The track is about an orphan who travels around Europe trying to find himself, as his father taught him to believe in a Europe without borders, celebrating the national food of each nation en route.

Host country Sweden is also seen as having a chance for back-to-back wins, represented by Norwegian twin brothers Marcus and Martinus Gunnarsen performing their presumptuously titled song Unforgettable.

But Eurovision voters – made up equally of public votes and a jury of music experts – will of course be the judge of that.

Other notable mentions include France’s Silmane giving a heartfelt rendition of Mon Amour and Ireland’s Bambie Thug singing Doomsday Blue – a song she’s described as “an electro-metal breakdown”.

What about the UK?

As one of the “Big Five” (the countries that contribute the most to the EBU along with France, Germany, Spain and Italy) the UK is guaranteed a place in the final. Plus, as the host nation, Sweden gets an automatic pass too.

This year the UK are represented by ex-Years And Years star Olly Alexander singing the dance-pop track Dizzy.

Performed in a glass box full of boxers, quirky choreography and a catchy refrain have placed it in the top 10, but we’re unlikely to be contenders for the top spot.

Indeed bookmakers reckon the UK are more likely to come last than nail the top spot.

Controversy this year

There have been calls on the European Broadcasting Union EBU to ban Israel from competing in the show, due to their ongoing ground offensive in Gaza.

An apolitical organisation, the EBU has said Israel will remain in the competition.

In comparison to Russia’s removal from the show back in 2022 due to its invasion of Russia, the EBU say Israel’s broadcaster Kan hasn’t broken any rules. They say Moscow was banned for using their broadcasting channels as a tool for political propaganda multiple times.

Normally strong Eurovision contenders, four-time winners Israel is represented by 20-year-old Eden Golan, and ranks in the top 10. But how the public will vote for them in the second semi-final heat on Thursday remains to be seen.

Golan’s song Hurricane was Israel’s third proposed entry after contest bosses rejected their first two songs over lyrics deemed political.

More than 34,000 people have been killed, and over 78,000 have been injured in Gaza since the conflict began, according to Gaza’s Hamas-led health ministry.

Israel retaliated after Hamas fighters killed more than 1,000 Israelis and took hundreds of hostages in attacks on 7 October last year.

Any other songs that have stirred up a fuss?

Spain’s entry, Zorra, by husband and wife act Nebulossa, has drawn controversy because its title can be translated as an anti-female slur.

While it’s been officially translated as “Vixen,” it’s a term used in Spain which would translate in the UK as “Bitch” or “Slut”.

Lyrics include: “If I head out solo, I’m a bit of a bitch/ If I’m having fun, I’m the biggest bitch/…When I get what I want (bitch, bitch) /It’s never ’cause I deserve it (bitch, bitch) … Well, she’s been empowering herself, And now she’s a picture-perfect bitch.”

The Feminist Movement of Madrid has called for it to be withdrawn from Eurovision, saying it insults women and is not suitable for a family audience.

Singer Maria Bas has argued her lyrics describe how a woman is referred to as a “zorra” no matter what she does, and that the song highlights society’s double standards, reclaiming a word that is weaponised against women only.

Spain’s prime minister added his twopenneth this week, saying he liked the song and joking about how right-wing critics might have preferred the national anthem used during the Franco dictatorship as Spain’s Eurovision submission.

The hard-right Vox party hit back by saying Pedro Sanchez would prefer to listen to the communist anthem The Internationale.

The Eurovision semi-finals are on Tuesday and Thursday evening, ahead of the grand final on Saturday night.

Sky News will be in Malmo with updates, a live blog, and all the biggest news from the contest as it happens.

Elijah Wood and other Lord Of The Rings cast members have paid tribute to their co-star Bernard Hill, who died on Sunday aged 79.

Hill played King Theoden in the Oscar-winning fantasy franchise directed by Sir Peter Jackson.

Wood, who played Frodo Baggins, said on X: “So long to our friend, our king. We will never forget you.”

He also shared a quote from JRR Tolkien‘s novel, on which the films are based, writing: “For he was a gentle heart and a great king and kept his oaths; and he rose out of the shadows to a last fair morning.”

Dominic Monaghan, who played Merry Brandybuck in the trilogy, wrote: “The Broken king has passed to the grey havens but he will always be remembered. #ripbernard.”

Hill joined the franchise’s cast for the second film in the series, 2002’s The Two Towers, which won two Academy Awards for best sound editing and best visual effects.

He returned to the franchise for 2003’s The Return Of The King, which picked up 11 Oscars, including best picture and best director for Sir Peter.

The actor had been due to attend Comic Con in Liverpool over the weekend but the event announced on Saturday that he had to withdraw at the last minute because of his partner becoming “very ill”.

The post on X added: “He sends his sincere apologies and thanks you all for your understanding.”

Later footage from the event shows Hill’s co-stars paying tribute to him on stage, with Sean Astin, who played Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings, saying: “He was intrepid, he was gruff, he was irascible.”

Billy Boyd, who played Peregrin “Pippin” Took, said: “We were watching the movies and I said to Dom, I don’t think anyone spoke Tolkien’s words as great as Bernard did.”

Hill first made a name for himself as Yosser Hughes in Alan Bleasdale’s BBC drama series Boys From The Blackstuff, about five unemployed men, which aired in 1982.

The role earned him a BAFTA TV nomination in 1983, the same year the show picked up the BAFTA for best drama series.

He went on to play Captain Edward Smith in the Oscar-winning 1997 epic Titanic, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

In the 2015 BBC adaptation of the Hilary Mantel novel Wolf Hall – about the court of Henry VIII – he played the Duke of Norfolk, uncle to Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.

He can currently be seen in the second series of BBC drama The Responder starring Martin Freeman, which began on Sunday night.

Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, described him as an “incredible talent” who “blazed a trail across the screen” during his career.

“From Boys From The Blackstuff, to Wolf Hall, The Responder, and many more, we feel truly honoured to have worked with Bernard at the BBC.

“Our thoughts are with his loved ones at this sad time.”

Actress and singer Barbara Dickson, who starred with him in a musical based on The Beatles, described him as a “marvellous actor”.

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Alongside a picture of them together, she wrote on X: “It’s with great sadness that I note the death of Bernard Hill.

“We worked together in John, Paul, George, Ringo and Bert, (by) Willy Russell marvellous show 1974-1975.

“A really marvellous actor. It was a privilege to have crossed paths with him. RIP Benny x.”

Meanwhile, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “Boys from the Blackstuff was massive in my early life. God love you, Bernard Hill.”