The Voice UK is on the hunt for a new singing star

Fans of The Voice UK were shocked last month when Olly Murs revealed that he’d been axed as a coach.

He told The Sun: “I’m gutted. I got the call… to say I won’t be back on the show, and it’s a bit of a shock, to be honest. I didn’t really expect that to come.

“But I don’t want to sit here like other artists might, and shine and gloss this up and say, ‘It was my decision’. I don’t want to do that.”

Murs, who found fame as the runner-up on The X Factor in 2009, joined The Voice UK in 2018, and guided Molly Hocking and Blessing Chitapa to victory.

However, the good news for anyone who will miss seeing Murs in one of the spinning chairs is that the changes only take effect from 2024 – he’s still present and correct for this year’s run, which gets under way tonight.

He’ll be joined by fellow coaches Anne-Marie, Tom Jones and will.i.am, and returning presenter Emma Willis ready to find a new singing star. And, for the first time in the show’s history, groups have been allowed to audition.

They’ll join the solo hopefuls who will be competing to win a recording contract with Universal Records as well as a massive 50k cash prize and a luxury holiday.

First though, they will have to make it through the Blind Audition stage as they try to impress the panel with their vocal talents alone.

Who will get the coaches spinning in their chairs, and will any of the hopefuls have a difficult decision about whose team to join?

Anyone who is still wondering how the show will cope without Murs can take some comfort from the fact that The Voice has consistently proven it’s bigger than any one person – or even channel.

Based on The Voice of Holland, the homegrown version began on BBC1 back in 2012, when the coaches were will.iam (the only person who has been there though every series so far), Tom Jones, Jessie J and the Script’s Danny O’Donoghue.

That line-up remaimed for the first two series, before Kylie Minogue and Kaiser Chief Ricky Wilson took over from Danny and Jessie in season three. After just one series, Kylie stepped aside to be replaced by Rita Ora, and it was all change again for series five, when Tom was axed and Rita left, to be replaced by Paloma Faith and Boy George.

For season six, the show made the jump to ITV1, where the line-up was Tom Jones (making a glorious comeback), will.i.am, Jennifer Hudson and Gavin Rossdale. Olly replaced Gavin for season seven, and Meghan Trainor took over from Hudson in season eight.

However, she then had to bow out after becoming pregnant, leaving the way clear for Anne-Marie to join in season nine, and she’s been there ever since.

ITV1 are remaining tight-lipped for now about who might be joining for the next run, saying that details of the 2024 series will be confirmed in due course, so in the meantime forget about the coaches and concentrate on finding out who is going to take this year’s title.