Tom Jones

EXCLUSIVE: Richard Marx, a friend of Sir Tom Jones, has said the decision to axe the music icon from The Voice UK coaching panel was ‘handled badly’ amidst the public backlash

Sir Tom Jones’ friend has said the backlash surrounding ITV axing him from The Voice UK is “pretty significant”. The music icon, 86, was sensationally dropped by the ITV talent show after 13 years as part of a major shake-up.

Bosses had hoped to offer Sir Tom a role on the show, but in a “different capacity”. Although he’s currently appearing on series 14, next year will be very different. Long-standing coach will.i.am will be joined by returning coach, Kelly Rowland, as well as newbies Cheryl Tweedy and rapper Aitch.

Sources have since said that Sir Tom has ruled out returning to the show next year. He previously said that while he didn’t want to leave the show, ITV had made the decision “a while ago.”

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Speaking to the Mirror, Sir Tom’s pal and The Voice Australia coach, Richard Marx, said: “The way that went down, and I don’t know the behind-the-scenes details, but I know Tom a little bit, and he’s such a class act, and I think however they handled it, they handled it badly, it seems.

“And the backlash, the public backlash, has been pretty significant.” Richard went on to add: “I haven’t seen him in a while, but I actually spent some time in the studio with him years ago, and I grew up idolising him. When I was a little kid, it was Tom and Elvis; they were my guys.

“Years later, his son, who manages him, reached out to me, and we went into the studio together, Tom and I, and nothing ever really came of what we did in the studio, but he and I hit it off and got to spend some time together. He’s just such a lovely guy. I absolutely love Tom.”

Richard went on to say that despite Sir Tom’s health struggles, his pal is “remarkable”. He said: “I just saw a clip on TikTok yesterday from a gig like a week ago, and he came out, and you could tell he was like, ‘Ugh, my hips hurt!’ or whatever, you know, like, but then he sits down, and his voice is the same! It’s unbelievable, he’s 86. Holy s*8t!

“That’s goals for me, man! I want to be that. Tony Bennett was able to do that, and I look at Tom; there are so few people whose voices don’t just ultimately leave them in some way, shape, or form. And I think it’s a testament to Tom, and Tony Bennett also, if you just never stop singing, you just got to go—you just got to stay—sing all the time, and that’s what they do..”

After a career spanning decades and 14 albums, Richard also disclosed that trying to pick a setlist for his recent shows at the London Palladium had been “tricky”. “Especially in America,” he laughed, adding: “But in such an incredibly wonderful way. Which is why sometimes, I don’t play all the singles. I’ve done a few gigs here, where I didn’t do anything but hits.

“But when I was putting that setlist together, I thought ‘Man, I am the luckiest guy in the world to be able to have a setlist like that.’ I know that first of all, I cater to the people who’ve supported me all these years, and I know that they want to hear the hits. I get it, because I’m the same way when I go see um when I go see a band play, if they don’t do most of the material that I know and love, I’m going to be a little bummed out.”

His shows, he says, are a journey for fans to kick back and relax, listening to their favourite hits live, while also being introduced to new material. He’s also a fan of Niall Horan, explaining: “I’ve never seen Niall, but I’m a fan of his. If you’re the kind of performer I am, who talks to the audience a lot, once you build a rapport with that particular audience, they’re in.

“It’s almost like you saying to your friends at a dinner party, ‘Hey, listen, can we pause the Sade station here for a few minutes, because I want to play you a couple of songs I’m really into?’ Of course, your friends are going to go, ‘Yeah, show me! What do you got?’ It’s kind of like the same thing. I tell everybody, ‘If you come to see me live, I’m very proud of the music that we play.”

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Sir Tom Jones has reportedly turned down an offer from ITV to appear as a “super guest judge” on The Voice UK after he was dropped as a coach for the next series.

Sir Tom Jones has reportedly snubbed an offer from ITV to take on a “super guest judge role”.

The legendary Welsh singer recently claimed that ITV had “fired” him from The Voice UK. It’s now been reported that he turned down a “super guest judge” position in the forthcoming series, which will feature Cheryl and Aitch on the panel.

Following news of his absence from the panel in the upcoming series, Sir Tom revealed he had been offered a scaled-back role, but was “not thrilled” about the proposition.

A source told The Sun: “It all got pretty messy and Tom and his team were furious about how things played out. ITV had hoped he would return in some capacity, but it isn’t happening.”

Following Kelly Rowland’s debut as a coach on this year’s show, the insider also revealed she is keen to bring bandmate Michelle Williams over for a mini Destiny’s Child reunion, reports Wales Online.

The insider added: “They are now hoping the big pull, along with the return of Cheryl, will be a mini reunion for Destiny’s Child.”

The Mirror has approached ITV and Sir Tom’s representative for comment.

Sir Tom previously posted on social media: “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 told just recently.

“The reason given is because of a financial difficulty with insurance. 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.”

An ITV spokesperson had previously stated: “We have loved working with Sir Tom Jones over the past nine years on The Voice UK. While he will no longer be a full-time coach on series 15, we continue to talk to Sir Tom and his team about his involvement in the next series.”

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Sir Tom has long expressed his passion for The Voice UK, telling The One Show in 2024 that it was “the perfect job”. The music legend went on to say: “I like listening to new voices and hopefully I can give some advice.”

He added: “So it’s the perfect job for me- well it’s not really a job- it’s something that I love to do. I still feel the same way now because this is the 13th series, so I still feel the same way now as I did when we started because you get new voices all the time, new people coming on.”

Sir Tom made his return to The Voice UK having been axed from its fifth series and replaced by Boy George. The programme originally launched on the BBC in 2012 before switching to ITV from its sixth series, coinciding with Sir Tom’s comeback.

Sir Tom subsequently commented: “I wasn’t really upset with the BBC. But whoever was responsible made a mistake.” He went on: “There’s a knockback right there, at my time of life – to prove to these young singers coming on the show that even I got a knockback, after all that time. Then you’ve got to think – it’s their loss. I knew what the public felt because of the feedback I had.”

The Voice UK continues Saturday, October 17 at 8.35pm on ITV1 and ITVX