The United Kingdom debuted at the 1957 Contest in Frankfurt with Patricia Bredin as their debut entrant. They missed out the following year but have participated every year since 1959 before becoming a member of the "Big Four" in 2004. They have won the Contest a total of five times and is one of two nations with victories in four different decades, the other being Sweden. They have also had the most runner-up placements, with 15 in total as of 2017.