Tom Jones says he was 'fired' from The Voice UK as star is axed by show after 13 years

Musical legend Tom Jones has claimed that he has been “fired” from The Voice UK, in a series of explosive allegations about the singing competition series.

The Welsh singer, 86, has served as a “coach” on the ITV series’ judging panel for 13 years, with fans left shocked after it was reported on Monday that Jones would not be returning as a full-time judge on the 2027 series, which is due to begin production soon.

In a statement shared to his Instagram account, Jones alleged that he had not wanted to leave the series but that the decision had come from ITV.

Jones first appeared on The Voice UK judging panel in 2020

Rex/ITV

“To be clear, I did want to leave The Voice as I love the show and really appreciate the audience,” he wrote. “ITV made this decision – obviously a while ago, and I was told just recently.”

Jones claimed that he'd been told that the “reason” for his departure was “a financial difficulty with insurance”.

“They now say in the press they wanted to ‘refresh’ the line-up, and with a new coaching line-up there wouldn't be a chair for me,” he continued, in reference to the recent reports that pop star Cheryl will be making her TV comeback as a judge on the series.

As a result, Jones alleged, “[ITV] are offering a much-reduced role where I would make an appearance but without being actually involved from the start, and I'm not thrilled about that”.

With Danny Jones, Kelly Rowland, will i am and Tom Fletcher, who are serving on the judging panel this series

ITV

“So the only thing I know right now, is that there's never a good time to fire an 86-year-old who's still pretty good at his job,” he concluded the post.

In the comment section, his former Voice UK co-star Anne-Marie, who appeared alongside Jones on the panel from 2021 to 2023, commented: “I love you.”

A show spokesperson told The Standard: "We have loved working with Sir Tom Jones over the past nine years on The Voice UK. While he will no longer be a full-time coach on series 15, we continue to talk to Sir Tom and his team about his involvement in the next series."

Along with US rapper Will.i.am, Jones is the only member of the original Voice UK judging line-up to still serve on the panel.

The original judging panel, back in 2012

Getty

Bar a break in 2016, he has served on the panel every year since, with Jones and the Black Eyed Peas frontman appearing alongside McFly stars Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones, as well as Destiny’s Child singer Kelly Rowland on the current series.

On The Voice UK, contestants undergo “blind auditions”, where the judges listen with their backs turned and can press their buzzer to turn their chair if they would like to champion the auditionee on voice alone.

The judges then serve as coaches for individual acts in the competition, with Jones having coached the winning act on three series.