Today , Eurovision Ireland heard the sad news that Clodagh Rodgers , who represented the United Kingdom at the 1971 contest with the song “Jack in the Box” has passed away at the age of 78 . Clodagh’s son , Sam Sorbie broke the news on Social Media that his mother had passed away yesterday , Friday 18th April . He wrote :

” With a heavy heart , my dear beautiful Mum, Clodagh has sadly passed away after battling an illness for the last three years. She passed away peacefully yesterday , surrounded by her family in Cobham “

Clodagh was born in Warrenpoint, County Down in Northern Ireland and began singing at the tender age of 12 , getting her first record deal at aged just 15. She appeared on several well-known TV shows in the UK during the 70’s such as The Morecambe and Wise show, The Two Ronnies and the Val Doonican show.She also appeared in numerous variety shows and West End musicals such as Talk of the Town and Blood Brothers. Clodagh also became the face of the Bisto gravy adverts on UK television during the 1970’s. She also released several singles and record albums, perhaps her best known ones after Jack in the Box being “Come back and Shake me ” and “Goodnight Midnight”.

Clodagh represented the United Kingdom at the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest , finishing a credible 4th place behind winners Monaco. The song , “Jack in the Box ” went on to reach number four in the UK singles charts and remained Clodagh’s biggest hit.

Clodagh’s death comes just days after the death of Colin Berry , who was one of the spokespersons over several years for the UK . We at Eurovision Ireland , would like to pass on our sincere condolences to both of their families .

Author : Sarah Rudman

Source : BBC , Sky

Visual Sources : Getty Images , You Tube