Justin is bookies' Eurovision favourite

Lowestoft rocker Justin Hawkins is the bookies' favourite to be selected as the UK entry for the Eurovision Song Contest.

The former Darkness frontman is hoping his duet with Beverlei Brown will win the popular vote in the Making Your Mind Up show on BBC1 on March 17.

Their song, called They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To, is William Hill's joint favourite with Brian Harvey, while Betfair, the country's largest online bookmakers, has Hawkins and Brown as favourites with Harvey in second place.

In an interview with the Guardian, the falsetto-voiced singer said: "I've been enjoying a long break and Eurovision doesn't seem to affect anything else. It's so removed from everything else that happens in music - it's something that you can afford to do and then crawl back under your rock."

The 31-year-old said he was still talking to the other members of the Darkness, who he said were making their next record without him. "I'm not especially desperate to revive a career; I was actually desperate to get out of my career six months ago. It had become less and less rewarding. The whole thing became like a business. I joined a band; I didn't join a bank. I got really p****d off with it. Plus, I took a load of drugs."

He said there were weeks when he spent more than £1,000 a week on drugs, but had been clean since going to rehab at the Priory.

"I haven't touched a granule of cocaine or a drop of alcohol for months. In fact, I've given up smoking now as well."

He added: "Everything I do is almost trying to hammer home the point that I don't care. I'm not trying to be cool. I don't want to be in the Arctic Monkeys."

He said he had "always been misquoted" on his famous claim that he wanted to be the biggest band in the world, and that he "just wants to have a good time" - which will include getting his catsuit out if he gets to the Eurovision final.