Sir Tom Jones has said he did not choose to leave The Voice UK, and that the explanation he was given privately does not match the explanation that later appeared in the press. In a social media statement on 8 September 2026, the 86-year-old singer from Treforest in Pontypridd wrote that he loves the show and really appreciates the audience, that ITV made the decision a while ago, and that he was told only recently. The reason given to him, he said, was a financial difficulty with insurance. He then drew the contrast himself: they now say in the press they wanted to refresh the show, and that with a new coaching line-up there would not be a chair for him. He added that he had been offered a much-reduced role in which he would make an appearance but would not actually be involved from the start, and that he was not thrilled about that.

He closed with the line that has travelled furthest: there is never a good time to fire an 86-year-old who is still pretty good at his job. The Voice confirmed he would not return as a full-time coach on series 15. A spokesperson said the show had loved working with him over the past nine years and that talks with Sir Tom and his team about some involvement in the next series were continuing. That wording left the door open without restoring the chair. The insurance explanation has not been set out in public by ITV in the same terms Sir Tom used. The refresh explanation has. Between those two accounts sits the offer he rejected in spirit if not in a formal refusal: a presence on the series, not a coach from the blind auditions onward. He has been an on-off coach since the programme premiered in 2012, first on the BBC and later on ITV, and in the most recent series he sat alongside will.i.am, Kelly Rowland, and McFly’s Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones. The 2027 series was already close to production when he spoke. What remains unresolved is not whether he wanted to stay. He said he did. What remains unresolved is why a financial difficulty with insurance was the reason given to him, and a refreshed line-up with no chair left was the reason given to everyone else.

Three days after Sir Tom Jones said he had been fired, ITV thanked the irreplaceable Sir Tom Jones and, in the same announcement, named the coaches who will occupy the panel without him. On 11 September 2026 the broadcaster said it wanted to thank him for all his years on The Voice UK and for the countless incredible and unforgettable moments he gave the show, adding that he had brought joy to audiences and to every singer who performed for him and with him, that he had been and would continue to be a truly unique face of the programme, and that he was deeply popular at ITV. The new series 15 coaching line-up places will.i.am and Kelly Rowland, returning for a second series, alongside two debut coaches: platinum-selling Manchester rapper Aitch and global pop figure Cheryl. Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones, who had shared a coaching presence, are also out as full-time coaches. The refresh is not limited to the red chairs. Emma Willis, the long-standing host, is leaving to present Strictly Come Dancing, with Stacey Solomon and Alesha Dixon set to replace her. Series 15 is due to air in 2027, with filming under way in Manchester. ITV’s earlier line, issued on the day of Sir Tom’s statement, was narrower: the show had loved working with him over nine years, he would no longer be a full-time coach on series 15, and conversations with him and his team about involvement were continuing. The 11 September wording raised the compliment and confirmed the absence. Irreplaceable, in that statement, did not mean the chair would be kept empty. It meant the chair would be praised and then filled. Cheryl and Aitch are not described by ITV as subsтιтutes for one man alone. They arrive as part of a wider reset that also removes the McFly pair and changes the hosts. For viewers who heard the word irreplaceable first, the sequence is the story: the tribute and the replacements were published together.

Source: New York Post