
A BBC reporter has admitted to going viral for “all the wrong reasons” after a memorable mix-up caused by “Eurovision fever.”
Following a preview of the first semi-final on Tuesday, reporter Katie Walderman confused up Finnish Eurovision candidate Kaarija (Jere Pöyhönen) with a fan who was sporting a rather realistic doppelganger dress.
While chatting to Finnish fans about the country’s prospects in the competition – the final of which is on Saturday – Walderman stumbled across one particularly dedicated fan, who was dressed in a top similar to Kaarija’s staple luminous green get-up.
The costume was so impressive, in fact, that Walderman mistaken the pleased fan for the rapper himself.
Speaking to BBC North West Tonight on Wednesday about the moment, Walderman said: ‘What a 24 hours…I’ve gone viral for all the wrong reasons.’
She recalled seeing a man signing autographs and asking if he was ‘the Cha Cha guy’, referring to the Finish artist’s song.
The strapline underneath the interview had read ‘Kaarija – Finland entrant’.

Walderman added: ‘I wished him luck for the semi-final – so I put them in my (news interview) package. Then I came off air last night and my phone just went boom and I was like, “Oh, no”.’
The BBC then showed Walderman’s interview with the real Kaarija, who luckily said he had found the mix-up ‘funny’.
‘It’s looking great, and I love it when people do the crazy Kaarija things,’ the rapper said.
‘It’s so weird, but I’m so happy because people give me so much support.’
Fortunately, the actual Kaarija hit the stage on Tuesday night at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool and was one of ten performers to advance to the final on Saturday.
Also seeing the comic side of the strange scenario, a BBC North West Tonight spokeswoman claimed Walderman’s error had been ‘a case of Eurovision fever’.
The second semi-final takes place tonight, giving Eurovision viewers their first glance of the UK’s performance.
Mae Muller, 25, of London, who will close the final on Saturday night, is previewing her entry I Wrote A Song.
Tune in to BBC One at 8 p.m. tonight for all of the action, and at the same time on Saturday for the final.