Sir Tom Jones didn’t hold back when discussing his departure from The Voice UK after BBC dropped him without warning ahead of its fifth season back in 2015.
The legendary Welsh singer, 84, was part of the original coaching panel when the show first launched in 2012, but despite four successful seasons, he was replaced by Boy George in 2016.
In his 2016 autobiography Over The Top and Back, Sir Tom revealed that his agent was informed just a month before filming that he wouldn’t be “invited back.”
He was particularly stunned by how the decision was handled, stating, “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.”
Sir Tom expressed his disappointment with the BBC, calling it a “cold place.” He questioned whether it was run by humans, humorously quipping, “Sometimes you wonder whether it is run by humans or a machine in the basement.”
While Sir Tom returned to The Voice in later seasons, the shock of his unceremonious exit left a lasting impression.
The current season features new coaches LeAnn Rimes and McFly’s Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones, alongside veteran coaches Sir Tom and will.i.am.
