In second place with 230 points was the Ukraine’s Ani Lorak, while Britain’s Abraham scored just 14 points, with backing from only San Marino and Ireland.

Sir Terry, 69, who has fronted the show since the 70s, immediately cast doubt on his future involvement after declaring that Eurovision was “no longer a music contest”.

He said: “It’s tremendously disappointing from the United Kingdom’s point of view. Andy Abraham gave the performance of his life with a song that certainly deserved far more points than it got.”

Referring to the show’s producer Kevin Bishop, the usually witty Sir Terry grimly added: “He and I have to decide whether we want to do this again.”

And it’s not just the veteran presenter who has had enough.

Many showbusiness figures support his views, including TV legend Bruce Forsyth who said: “It’s not a song contest any more, it’s political.

“It’s all so biased, it’s developed into a farce. I’ve stopped watching it the last couple of years.”

PR guru Max Clifford said: “Terry Wogan is spot on. It’s all about politics and block voting and nothing to do with the merits of a song.”

And pop mogul Simon Cowell backed the criticism, saying: “If people enjoy it as entertainment, that’s great, but it’s all a bit empty and meaningless as a competition.”

Eurovision has long been suspected of being biased, with viewers voting politically rather than on any musical merits. But Saturday night’s contest – in Belgrade, Serbia – took the trend to a new extreme.

And it is not just the UK that is losing out in the voting. Germany’s entry by No Angels – one of the country’s biggest selling bands – ended up in 24th place, leaving a German national newspaper to ask: “Why doesn’t anyone like us?”

Former bin man Abraham – an X-Factor runner-up in 2006 – had been warned about the possible outcome but could not hide his disappointment at ranking so low. “It’s sad, it’s really sad,” was all he could say.

Despite the biased voting, the show remains popular with nine-and-a-half million British viewers tuning in on Saturday.

But after polling in the top 10 only once in the past decade many people now feel there is no point in the UK taking part in future shows.

Sir Terry said: “Russia were going to be the political winners from the beginning. Western European participants have to decide whether they want to take part from here on in because their prospects are poor.”

Lib Dem MP Richard Younger-Ross  said: “It is clear that the voting system is based on countries either supporting their friends or not voting for those they dislike.

“The BBC is one of the four main funders of the contest and should withdraw its contribution until there is a fair voting system.”

But a BBC spokesman yesterday refused to speculate over the future of the show or Sir Terry’s comments.