Cheryl, Stacey Solomon and Alesha Dixon are joining The Voice UK, ITV has announced. The Girls Aloud star has joined the coaching panel for the series alongside rapper and fellow newcomer Aitch. They will replace departing coaches Sir Tom Jones, Danny Jones and Tom Fletcher and will join returning coaches Kelly Rowland and Will.i.am.
Meanwhile, Solomon and Dixon will present the series, replacing Emma Willis, who is one of the trio of new hosts on Strictly Come Dancing.
Sir Tom Jones claims he was 'fired'
Sir Tom, 86, this week claimed he had been 'fired' from the programme and that a decision was made due to a 'financial difficulty with insurance'. He said he was 'not thrilled' about what ITV offered him instead of being a coach, writing: 'To be clear, I did not want to leave The Voice as I love the show and really appreciate the audience.
'ITV made this decision – obviously a while ago, and I was just told recently.' He continued: 'They now say in the press they wanted to "refresh" the show, and with a new coaching line-up, there wouldn't be a chair for me.'
'They 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. '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.'
Changes take effect in 2027
The judging panel changes will not come into effect until series 15 in 2027, which kicked off filming on Friday in Manchester. Cheryl had been rumoured to be the person taking up Sir Tom's spare seat on the show, in what will be her primetime TV return, after a long-running stint as a coach on The X Factor.
The popstar previously appeared on The Voice in 2012, when she performed Call My Name on stage and did a swan dive as part of the act – although she was also forced to fend off accusations of lip-syncing the track.
