Eurovision 2023: Alesha Dixon joins a glamorous Hannah Waddingham for semi-finals

Ted Lasso’s Alesha Dixon and Hannah Waddingham brought the glamor to Liverpool on Thursday night for the second round of the Eurovision 2023 semi-finals.

16 acts gathered at the city’s M&S Bank Arena to compete for a spot in Saturday’s grand final.

And the Mis-Teeq singer, 44, and the actress, 48, pulled out all the stops as they took the stage to present the show, which aired on BBC One, alongside Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina, 32.

Alesha looked fabulous in a strapless black corset dress with sheer mesh panels and a dramatic train.

Hannah, meanwhile, put on a leggy display in a busty strapless yellow mini dress that showed off her hourglass figure.

Wow factor: Alesha looked fabulous in a strapless black corset dress with sheer mesh panels and a dramatic train

Hannah completed the look with yellow pointed heels.

Julia, meanwhile, stood out in a blue metallic jumpsuit with puff sleeves and stitching down the legs.

In a rule change this year, the decision on who advances is entirely up to the public, with national juries having their say during Saturday’s final.

31 countries will compete in two semi-finals, 10 of which will advance to the final.

Last year’s winner, Ukraine, automatically advanced to the grand final, along with the big five, consisting of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.

The ten acts that came through on Tuesday were; Croatia, Moldova, Switzerland, Finland, Czech Republic, Israel, Sweden, Serbia, Portugal and Norway.

Following a crash, Irish Eurovision act Wild Youth slammed the contest in a furious post after failing to secure a spot in Saturday’s final.

The group was one of five acts to be eliminated in the semi-finals on Tuesday after singing their song We Are One.

Eurovision: The Mis-Teeq singer, 44, and the actress, 48, pulled out all the stops as they took the stage to host the show alongside Julia

Stunning: Hannah, meanwhile, put on a leggy display in a busty strapless yellow mini dress that showed off her hourglass figure.

Alesha accessorized her daring outfit with a chunky gold chain

Great reception: the women made quite the entrance when they walked on stage

Drama! Ireland’s Eurovision song 2023, Wild Youth, reacted furiously to the competition after failing to secure a spot in Saturday’s final

In a now-deleted post, the band’s frontman Conor O’Donohoe took to Instagram to claim that their country “never got a chance,” with a screenshot of the caption later shared by a fan on Twitter.

He wrote: ‘We did what we could. Michael Kealy [RTE’s Eurovision Head of Delegation] was great. But the truth is they never give Ireland a chance. Sorry if we let you down, we did our best.’

It comes as Mae Muller’s performance in the upcoming Eurovision 2023 grand final could be in jeopardy.

The British entry, 25, has been forced to go on vocal rest after this week’s dress rehearsals by her vocal coach.

During an update to her fans on Twitter on Wednesday, Mae shared a photo of herself with a “vocal rest” sign around her neck.

Disappointed at the news, she explained, “As someone who can’t stfu if his life depends on it, things aren’t going well x.”

“My vocal coach literally had to make me carry a sign to make me shut up, I’m so embarrassed omg.”

Bad news: Mae Muller’s performance in the upcoming Eurovision 2023 grand final could be in jeopardy

On stage: The British entry has been forced to go on vocal rest by her vocal coach after this week’s dress rehearsals (pictured on Wednesday)