2 January – I felt how it touched the bottom of my very soul

A whole host of countries have yet to finish first at our favourite TV show. Will one of them break that duck this year? Or will it be a ‘popular’ Nordic win yet again?

We’d like to see a new country’s name on that role of honour. Somewhere that will be a pleasure to visit in 2025 and somewhere that could put their own stamp on things. Back in the early 2000s, it looked like our friends in Romania were poised to win. Years on, and it’s still yet to happen. But in 2004, today’s birthday girl Sanda Ladoși had the chance to bring things back to Bucharest. As we know, Sanda didn’t win. But she paved the way for two closer run things from Romania in the years to come.

Sanda is 54 today.

La mulți ani, Sanda!