Sir Tom Jones once scathingly described the BBC as a “cold place” after his departure from The Voice UK ahead of its fifth series. The legendary singer, who was an original coach on the show with will. i. am, Jessie J, and Danny O’Donoghue from The Script, was dropped after four series.
Sir Tom, at 84, recounted how he had anticipated the show’s renewal over the summer and heard rumours that Paloma Faith might step in for Rita Ora, who had moved to ITV’s The X Factor. However, just one month before filming was due to start, he says his agent received a call informing him he would not be “invited back” with Boy George taking his place, reports Wales Online.
The ‘Delilah’ hitmaker expressed his shock in his 2016 autobiography ‘Over The Top and Back’, writing: “To say I was shocked is to put it mildly. But my shock wasn’t about the fact they had replaced me. My shock was about the way they did it.”
Acknowledging that no one can consider themselves a permanent fixture, Sir Tom revealed that when his management questioned the BBC’s decision, they were simply told he was “out of contract”. He lamented, “Indisputable as a bald statement of fact, I guess. But what a cold place the BBC is. Sometimes you wonder whether it is run by humans or a machine in the basement.”
Sir Tom Jones has expressed his enthusiasm for the new series of The Voice, which continues tonight on ITV. After a brief absence, he returned to the show when it transitioned from the BBC to ITV and is now joined by fellow judges LeAnn Rimes, will. i. am, and McFly’s Danny Jones and Tom Fletcher, who are replacing Olly Murs and Anne-Marie.
Commenting on the new lineup, Sir Tom said: “We have our new coaches, LeAnn, Danny and Tom, joining myself and Will. It has brought a fresh energy to the show. What amazes me is the brilliant voices that we discover every single year.”
He added: “This year we have a fresh bunch of singers and that’s what we are looking for. I look at The Voice being an amazing platform for our homegrown singers to showcase to the world.”
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Sir Tom also highlighted the diversity of the coaching panel, stating: “I think the strength in the variety of coaches is that we are all listening for completely different things, which makes it interesting.”
The Voice airs on ITV1 on Saturdays at 8:30pm.
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