Singer Olly Alexander ‘knew' he would not win Eurovision in 2024
He said: 'Everyone said, 'you're going to bring it home, Olly', I knew I wouldn't.
'Now that I've had a bit of time away, I'm so proud I got to do it, but it was also very stressful, it can be very vulnerable and isolating.'
Alexander added: 'I've never had so much pressure put on a song. People are brutal anyway, but because we're in a competition, people are really going for you. I was like, 'God, I'm just trying to give people a fun time'.'
During the interview, Alexander went on to speak about how a media adviser told him not to 'come out' as gay during his 20s due to the impact it would have on his career.
He said: 'You'd never give that advice now, and it was terrible advice then. I knew it was never really going to be an option for me, but it did feel like a fork-in-the-road moment.'
But the former Years And Years singer said he had received much better advice from Dame Judi Dench, who he made his West End debut alongside in Peter And Alice.
Alexander said: 'The best thing Judi Dench taught me was that you can be a legendary star and still be the most chill diva ever.
'She's always down for a laugh, she loves a naughty joke.'
The singer released his debut solo album Polari in February this year, and has had a UK number one single with Years And Years in King, along with four other top 10 singles, while the pop band also had two number one albums.
Alexander has also embarked on an acting career that has seen him appear in Channel 4 drama It's A Sin, make a cameo appearance in EastEnders, and perform in a number of stage roles.
The full interview can be read in the September issue of Tatler, available by digital download and on newsstands from August 7.
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'I want the vindication essentially for John Brown and just for my lineage, because they were not able to talk about it. It was something that just became that secret that we couldn't really share, but we knew.' If Dr Riddell's version of events is to be believed, and there is plenty of evidence to support it, Victoria and John enjoyed a romantic relationship lasting the best part of 20 years, until his death in 1883. As well as making reciprocated declarations of love to him on his deathbed - 'I told him no one loved him more than I did and he answered 'nor you - than me'' - she also had made a cast of his hand, just as she'd done with Albert. When her own death came in 1901, she asked to be buried with a lock of hair and photograph of the man who'd been by her side for two decades since Albert's death in 1861. Surviving letters see her calling him 'my beloved' and 'darling one'. 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'My gut says it's going to have to get acknowledged at some point,' she reasons. 'Scandals are always very exciting so I'm sure there'll be a lot of questions for them to answer. If they don't say anything, that's their choice. But I'd like them to acknowledge the truth of this love, to recognise that it wasn't cool to cover up and destroy evidence of the relationship they shared. Let's be real, Bertie was a bit of a d**k to the Browns. "That story deserves to be known, to have its own breath out there in the world. You don't get that kind of romance every day. It's what you'd hope for anybody, that you would find another chance at love. So I don't see why we should look down on that. It's like an opportunity presented itself and they embraced it, and I think that is beautiful.' Angela says she's hoping to have a DNA test to prove her ancestry, but has been warned it may take some time because of the need for perfect source material for testing across the four-generation gap. 'I'll let the scientists do the science,' she says cheerfully. 'I'm a supporting character in this journey, and so I will follow wherever the story leads me. I'm totally open to it. So far it's been so exciting, so cool. I'm just really stoked.' The tattooed American, who wears a nose-ring, insists that she's not simply trying to cash in on the royals' wealth. 'Money is the furthest thing from my goal in telling this family story. It has always been to get Queen Victoria and John Brown's story the truth it deserves.' She says she cannot think of any other reason why her family would be in possession of precious heirlooms from Victoria and John, including a brooch and lock of hair. 'Their relationship was authentic and genuine. They obviously had feelings for each other. It went well beyond a queen and man servant situation.' There was plenty of gossip at the time about the pair, played by Dame Judi Dench and Billy Connolly in the 1997 movie Mrs Brown. In 1865, after Victoria requested John's transfer to the Royal Household at Windsor, two of her daughters, Helena and Louise, openly referred to him as 'Mamma's lover'. And the following year a Swiss newspaper published a story claiming Victoria, then aged 46, had privately married John and become pregnant. Angela would be happy whether Mary Ann turns out to be John or Hugh's daughter. 'Either John Brown is my great, great uncle or he is my great, great grandpa. My family still played a key role in history with their friendship and closeness to Queen Victoria. I'm proud of their steadfastness in keeping the legacy of John Brown alive and their word to holding the secret close. It's still a beautiful romance that deserves its moment of recognition in history.' With her Scottish roots from her mother's side, Angela loves spending time in the UK whenever she can and admits she sometimes feels more British than American. 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