Tom Jones has been a coach on The Voice UK —the British version of The Voice— for 13 seasons, but he will not be for the fourteenth. At 86 years old, the British singer announced on his social media that he has been fired from the music program “due to financial difficulties with insurance,” as he shared this Tuesday, September 8, in an Instagram post —where he has 823,000 followers—. “To be clear, I didn’t want to leave The Voice because I love the show and I really appreciate the audience,” explained the performer of hits like Sexbomb and Delilah. “ITV [the network that has aired the last nine seasons of the talent show that started on the BBC] made this decision, obviously a while ago, and they told me very recently. The reason they gave is a financial problem related to insurance,” lamented Jones, visibly upset.
In the last season of The Voice UK, aired last August, the artist was part of the team of coaches alongside the also veteran of the program will.i.am, former Destiny’s Child member Kelly Rowland, and McFly members Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones. “Now they say in the press that they wanted to ‘renew’ the show, and that with a new team of coaches there was no place for me,” the singer wrote in his statement. “They offer me a much smaller role, where I would make appearances but not participate actively from the start, and that doesn’t excite me. So the only thing I know right now is that it’s never a good time to fire an 86-year-old man who is still quite good at his job,” he added in a statement signed as “Sir Tom Jones” —he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2006—.
Jones’s post has been filled with Likes and messages of support, including one from will.i.am who, after 11 seasons alongside him, left a string of sad and crying emojis in the comments section. “The best thing about being on The Voice was having the chance to work with you. An absolute legend and a true gentleman. The Voice won’t be the same without you,” wrote Karl Loxley, one of the participants who was part of both artists’ team —after Jones stole him from the Black Eyed Peas singer—. Singer and songwriter Anne-Marie, who also worked as a coach for three seasons of the show, wrote him an “I love you.”
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Tom Jones has appeared on the talent show almost continuously since its start in 2012 on the BBC. He took a brief break in 2014 and returned to the program in 2017, when it moved to ITV, where it is currently produced by Lifted Entertainment —a production company also behind shows like Love Island and Dancing on Ice—. After more than a decade as a coach, rumors surfaced this weekend that the most veteran of the team might not return for the new season, which led the artist to share this statement. ITV, for its part, has not commented on the matter, but the Press Association news agency reported that a source from the show had “hope” that the singer would return for the next season, according to the BBC. “At ITV we love working with Sir Tom. They are in talks with him and are confident he will return to the show,” said the source.
During his time on the show, Tom Jones has shared the stage with numerous stars who have also participated as coaches, such as Jessie J, Olly Murs, Kylie Minogue, and Rita Ora. Additionally, he has been the mentor of three winners of the format: Leanne Mitchell in the first season, Ruti Olajugbagbe in the seventh, and Anthonia Edwards in the eleventh.
