Morrissey has ruled himself out of entering the Eurovision Song Contest.

The former Smiths singer won't be representing the UK in this year's competition because the timing isn't right.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "He will definitely not be taking part. We were in discussions with him and other artists, and he had been genuinely interested, but the timing wasn't right."

It was revealed at the beginning of the year that Morrissey - real name Steven Patrick Morrissey - had been asked by the BBC to write and perform a track for this year's competition in Helsinki.

BBC bosses had hoped the singer's involvement would bring credibility to the contest and win the prize for the UK.

Last year, the UK finished 19th out of 24 countries.

Taken from M&C