You have to have a thick skin to take part in Eurovision which might be why last year’s UK entrant, singer Olly Alexander, has already reached out to this year’s hopefuls to talk about the pitfalls of putting yourself out there.

Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull, and Charlotte Steele – members of the country-pop girl group Remember Monday – say they plan to get a drink date with the Years And Years singer before they perform in the contest in May.

Lauren says they had a “lovely chat” with Olly, and “drinks are pending” after he “reached out to us and has sent his well-wishes and given us some advice”.

Of course, positivity is a must if you are the UK’s Eurovision entrant (Olly only managed 18th place) and thankfully Remember Monday have quite a history of setting their critics to music, performing medleys on TikTok of some of their trolls’ funniest comments.

“Some people, you just won’t be their cup of tea, so, yeah, we started kind of singing those insults,” Lauren explains.

Holly-Anne says the overall reaction to their song What The Hell Just Happened has been “overwhelmingly positive”, admitting they have been “taken aback by how kind and positive everyone’s been”.

So who are this trio? Well, they have a background in musical theatre and have known each other for years.

As Holly-Anne explains: “We met at sixth form college, we were all in the same performing arts class.

“We were kind of known as the three girls that constantly sang every genre, everything, and I guess that’s kind of still what we’re doing.

“Our teachers constantly would knock on the door. I think we had an A level final paper due or something… which was not even slightly a priority. The priority was getting an incredible cover of My Milkshake Brings All The Boys To The Yard down pat,” she laughs.

Like former UK runner-up Sam Ryder, they have already got a huge fanbase of over half a million followers on TikTok, which has to be a help in terms of winning votes.

Although the girls are big fans of Bucks Fizz’s “iconic” 80s performance, they say they’ve no plans to rip off their skirts on the big night.

Charlotte refuses to say much about the staging itself, but adds that “we are all from theatre backgrounds and I think that you can definitely expect some theatrics”.

Holly-Anne says they have “some incredible people working with us in terms of creative direction and styling.

“We just can’t wait for everyone to see it.”

Eurovision being non-political did not stop politics creeping its way into last year’s event with several of the finalists referring to ongoing global disputes in the build-up.

This year, between the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, it’s hard to imagine we will not see similar scenes.

But Lauren hopes the peaceful message at the show’s heart remains the focus, as Eurovision “was designed to bring people together and bring countries together and celebrate artists from all around the world.

“So we’re just really looking forward to doing that and celebrating, you know, the music and the artistry that we get to kind of witness.”

Around 200 million viewers are expected to watch the competition in the Swiss city of Basel, where Remember Sunday take on 36 other hopefuls.

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The band has two months to hone their performance and perhaps the faces they will have to make when the votes come in, too.

While they look cool, calm and can’t stop singing now, Charlotte says to start worrying if they go quiet nearer the time, as the marker of them feeling nervous is “we go completely silent, like right before we go on stage.

“If we’re nervous, you will be able to tell…but hopefully not on stage.”

Hollyoaks star Paul Danan died from a cocktail of drugs including cocaine and heroin, an inquest has heard.

Danan, 46, was found dead at his Bristol home in January.

The actor and reality TV star was best known for playing bad boy Sol Patrick in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks from 1997 to 2001. He later appeared on the celebrity versions of Love Island and Big Brother.

An inquest into Danan’s death was this morning opened and adjourned at Avon Coroner’s Court, Bristol.

Danan was pronounced dead by emergency services at his home on 15 January and his body was identified at the scene by his partner, Melissa Crooks, the inquest heard.

His provisional cause of death has been recorded as combined toxicity of heroin, methadone, codeine, pregabalin, cocaine and zopiclone, contributed to by benzodiazepine use, the court heard.

“I understand there are no family concerns,” coroner’s officer Alexis Camp said.

She added: “No note was left.”

Danan’s GP and family members will be asked to provide statements, as will police officers and ambulance service members, Ms Camp said. Inquiries are also ongoing with Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust.

The provisional date for the full inquest hearing is 28 May.

Danan had been due to appear for a plea hearing on 16 January after being charged with possession of cocaine and cannabis.

He had also been accused of driving while under the influence of drugs in October last year.

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Danan had been open about his struggles with substance abuse, which he said began when he was a teenager.

In 2019, he said on ITV’s The Jeremy Kyle Show that he had to “work hard at it every day to keep in recovery”.

Paying tribute to Danan after his death, fellow Love Island star Calum Best wrote on Instagram: “Life wasn’t always easy for him, but he faced it with such heart and courage, and that inspired so many of us.

“We shared many laughs, chats, and unforgettable moments. My heart goes out to his loved ones right now. Rest easy, brother.”

British actress Simone Ashley says she believes the industry has “come a long way” in terms of diversifying – but says the process is ongoing.

The Bridgerton and Sex Education star says that growing up she loved watching Hollywood royalty Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz and Anne Hathaway take on romcom leads.

But the 29-year-old South Asian – who is of Indian Tamil descent and grew up in Surrey – says she never really saw people like her in those roles.

Ashley told Sky News: “I always wanted to play a character like that.

“So, when we got the script, I just jumped on it – because I wanted to fill those shoes, and kind of bring back that 90s romcom world.”

Simone’s new film Picture This sees her in the starring role as London photographer Pia, who’s navigating a struggling business while dealing with the societal pressures of finding love.

Though the character is more than content with the life she’s built, a prediction from a spiritual guru threatens to throw that into chaos as she’s set up on five blind dates.

Hero Fiennes Tiffin – star of the After film series and nephew of Ralph and Joseph Fiennes – and British comedian Asim Chaudhry also join the Picture This cast.

Ashley goes on: “What was so important about this film is that we celebrated and enhanced the culture, and any aspects of comedy were just from the characters themselves – it wasn’t making fun of the culture.”

‘Part of the change’

And while the film is centred around a South Asian family, Ashley says that’s not what she wants viewers to take from it.

“This is a story that is a classic romcom – and I want that to be the selling point, that’s how we normalise this narrative.

“The billboards aren’t ‘Indian girl in the movie’.

“I’m just super proud, super pleased and I just hope that universally all women – not just South Asian women – can see themselves in this character.”

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Not only does the movie mark Ashley’s first romcom role, but also her first as executive producer.

Since being named one of Variety’s 2021 Brits to Watch, she’s made her stamp on the acting world – most notably as leading lady Kate Sharma in the second season of Netflix period drama Bridgerton.

And she recently confirmed she’ll be releasing her first music album soon.

Ashley has previously picked apart what she’s described as the “restrictive” nature of being an Indian actress – and how it took her longer to break into the industry compared to her white peers.

But she says the industry is changing.

“I think we’ve come a long way – I think we’re part of the change and I think more movies like [Picture This] – more women like you in your seat, more women in my seat – I think that’s part of the change.”

Picture This is available to watch on Prime Video now.