A TikTok star from Essex has been revealed as the UK entry for the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest.

Singer-songwriter Sam Ryder will be performing his viral song Space Man at the grand final in Turin, Italy, in May.

Ryder hails from Maldon in Essex and found fame covering songs on TikTok during lockdown.

He has so far gained 12 million followers.

He said: “Having been a fan of Eurovision since I was a kid, I am so honoured to have been presented with the opportunity to sing at an event alongside some of Europe’s most talented creatives, performers and songwriters.

“I hope to sing my head off in a way the UK can be proud of, and to showcase a song I wrote with my friends last summer makes the whole experience even more special. See you in Turin, legends.”

The singer co-wrote the song Space Man with Grammy-winning songwriter Amy Wadge, who has previously worked with Ed Sheeran, which will be used as his song for his Eurovision performance.

Ryder's covers during lockdown in March 2020, which were uploaded to TikTok, caught the attention of global stars including Justin Bieber and Alicia Keys.

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He later signed to the Parlophone record label, part of Warner Music Group, and released his debut EP The Sun’s Gonna Rise in 2021.

He'll now be hoping to improve on Great Britain's finishing place in the last two Eurovisions.

The 2021 competition was held in Rotterdam, Netherlands and won by Italy’s rock band Maneskin with their song Zitti E Buoni.

@samhairwolfryder

Hi, my name is Sam and this is not a drill 🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹

♬ original sound - Sam Ryder

The UK's entry, singer James Newman, was the only one to score zero points from both the jury and public vote, coming bottom on the leaderboard.

But Ryder added: "I don't want to let the stigma or fear of coming at a certain place in a table stop me from doing something and being a part of something that I enjoy so much.

"As long as I can go to Eurovision and know in my heart of hearts I'm going to do the best job I can then everything else is out of my control."

The Eurovision grand final will be on BBC One and BBC iPlayer and on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds on May 14 from 8pm.