Sir Tom Jones is reportedly stepping down from The Voice UK after 13 years as a coach, with Cheryl and rapper Aitch understood to be in talks to join the ITV singing competition.
The reported departure would come ahead of production on the programme’s 15th series. Jones, 86, is currently appearing in the 14th series alongside will.i.am, Kelly Rowland and McFly’s Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones.
According to reports, ITV is planning a major refresh of the coaching panel, with Cheryl set to make a return to television more than a decade after her time as a judge on The X Factor. Aitch is also understood to be under consideration for a place on the show.
A source told The Sun that producers believed the forthcoming series needed “a major refresh”, although discussions were reportedly continuing over whether Jones could remain involved in a different capacity.
The veteran singer has been one of the programme’s most familiar faces since The Voice UK launched on the BBC in 2012. He briefly left the panel in 2016, before returning when the series moved to ITV the following year.
Neither Sir Tom Jones nor ITV has publicly confirmed that he is leaving. A separate report in the Mirror said the broadcaster remained in talks with the singer and was hopeful he would return to the series.
