As Scooch carry the nation’s meagre Eurovision expectations into the sequinned bear pit of the Helsinki Arena tonight, here are some hopeful indicators for them to cling to.

Sir Terry Wogan apparently believes that they have the best chance of any UK entry since Katrina and the Waves won in 1997. Tony Blair has just announced his retirement from the job he started the day before that last victory. Switzerland, one of the favourites, has already been knocked out.

And that’s it. In a field awash with drag queens, political controversy and new entries, four Britons dressed as air stewards and stewardesses have so far failed to set the tournament alight.

The bookmakers have made Scooch rank outsiders, with Coral putting them at 33-1, Ladbrokes 28-1 and William Hill 25-1 yesterday.

A more likely outcome, the punters agree, is that Scooch become only the second British act, after Jemini in 2003, to register the infamous “nul point” and finish last.

Scooch have overcome formidable barriers in their quest to succeed Lordi, the masked Finnish heavy metal band, as Eurovision champions.

The band, formed in 1998 by Natalie Powers, Caroline Barnes, David Ducasse and Russ Spencer, enjoyed moderate early success, including a number one single in Japan and a tour supporting the boy band 5ive before they split up in 2000. They then plunged into careers in obscure satellite television shows and the choruses of West End musicals.

Seven years later they reemerged with a bubblegum pop anthem Flying the Flag and cabin crew costumes, to join the motley assortment of acts bidding to become the UK’s representative at Eurovision.

They reached the final two on the BBC One show Making Your Mind up, where Wogan wrongly announced that a rival contender, Cyndi, had won the public vote to represent Britain.

Since then, they have weathered accusations of plagiarism and miming, as well as the cheerful cynicism that characterises Britain’s attitude to its entrants in the annual song contest.

This month they told The Times that they “absolutely refuse to believe” that they will score nul point.

Barnes said: “I think we tick every box. The song is memorable and we have a great visual performance. We work on many different levels. We’re not just taking the mick.”

Powers hinted that they may actually win, saying: “Some people are saying we’re the new Bucks Fizz.” But the punters are not convinced. Jenny Prest, at William Hill, said that about £5,000 had been wagered on Scooch failing to score a point, nearly twice the money placed on them winning.

“All the big money has gone on Ukraine and Latvia. Ukraine’s song is very catchy and is delivered by a transvestite whom someone described as a cross between Christopher Biggins and a Teletubby. Latvia have an Il Divo-style group in top hats singing Opera Lite.

“The competition is increasingly dominated by Eastern European countries who vote for each other because they have languages and cultural ties in common. It’s not just us who are stuggling. So are Spain, France, Germany and even Ireland – who seemed to win it all the time a few years ago.”

Five British acts have won Eurovision since the inaugural contest in 1956: Sandie Shaw, Lulu, Brotherhood of Man, Bucks Fizz and Katrina and the Waves.

— Ukraine’s Verka Serduchka is a Slavic Dame Edna, performed by the male comic Andry Danylko. Dancing Lasha Tumbai is a folk parody with lyrics in English, German, Russian, Ukrainian and Mongolian. Denmark’s more glamorous cross-dressing entry, DQ, was eliminated in the semi-finals

— Israel and Switzerland raised most complaints. Israel’s Teapacks denied that Push the Button was about Iran’s nuclear programme. Evangelical groups in Switzerland organised a petition against DJ Bobo’s chart-topping song Vampires Are Alive. Both acts failed to reach the final

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