Sir Tom Jones did not dress his exit up as a mutual decision. In a statement posted on 8 September 2026 he wrote that he did not want to leave The Voice, that he loves the show and appreciates the audience, and that ITV made the decision some time ago and told him only recently. He said the reason given was a financial difficulty with insurance. He said the press line about a refresh arrived afterwards, along with the explanation that a new coaching line-up left no chair for him. He said he had been offered a much-reduced role, an appearance without being involved from the start, and that he was not thrilled about it. He closed with the line that has been quoted across the BBC, Radio Times, The Independent, Metro and People: there is never a good time to fire an 86-year-old who is still pretty good at his job.

The show’s own statement was cooler. A spokesperson said the production had loved working with Sir Tom Jones over the past nine years on The Voice UK, that he would no longer be a full-time coach on series 15, and that talks continued about some involvement in the next series. The Sun had already reported that bosses wanted a shake-up and that there were plans to use him in a different capacity, with a source saying everyone loved him but there was no seat once Aitch and Cheryl were coming in and Kelly Rowland was returning alongside will.i.am. The gap between those two accounts is the story. One side describes a refresh and an open door. The other describes a decision taken early, disclosed late, explained first as insurance and then as programming, and sweetened with a cameo he did not want.

This is not the first time he has been dropped. Ahead of series five in 2016 he accused the BBC of sub-standard behaviour after being given about 24 hours’ notice. He later returned, and for a long stretch he and will.i.am were the constants while other coaches rotated. That history makes the 2026 wording sharper. He is 86, from Treforest in Pontypridd, and still working.

ITV has not publicly adopted his word “fired,” and it has not confirmed the insurance detail in the statements given to Radio Times and others. What it has confirmed is that the full-time chair is gone. For viewers who stayed because of him, the precise contractual reason matters less than the fact that the decision was not his.