The Welsh icon was let go from the show after four series

Tom Jones was dropped from BBC’s The Voice after four seasons (Image: ITV)

Sir Tom Jones hit out at the BBC and called it a ‘cold’ following his unexpected departure before the fifth series of The Voice UK. The iconic singer was part of the original line-up of coaches, which included will. i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, Jessie J and Danny O’Donoghue from The Script.

However, despite having been part of the programme for four seasons, Sir Tom revealed that he was unexpectedly dropped by BBC executives who decided not to renew his contract.

Sir Tom, 84, recounted how he had anticipated the show’s return for another season over the summer and had heard rumours that Paloma Faith might step in for the then-judge Rita Ora, who had moved to ITV’s The X Factor.

Yet, with filming scheduled to start within a month, Tom alleges that the producers reached out to his agent with the bombshell news that he would not be “invited back”, paving the way for Boy George to join the panel, reports Wales Online.

The ‘Delilah’ hitmaker expressed his surprise at the decision. In his 2016 autobiography ‘Over The Top and Back’, he wrote: “To say I was shocked is to put it mildly. But my shock wasn’t about the fact they had replaced me. My shock was about the way they did it.”

Acknowledging that “nobody has the right to think of themselves as a permanent fixture”, Sir Tom mentioned that when questioned by his management about the decision to replace him, the BBC chiefs simply stated he was “out of contract”.

He further commented: “Indisputable as a bald statement of fact, I guess. But what a cold place the BBC is. Sometimes you wonder whether it is run by humans or a machine in the basement.”

Will i. am, Sir Tom Jones, LeAnn Rimes and McFly’s Danny Jones and Tom Fletcher (Image: No credit)

Sir Tom Jones has expressed his enthusiasm for the latest series of The Voice, which sees him return to the judging panel after previously stepping away for a season. The show, which has moved from BBC to ITV, features Sir Tom alongside new judges LeAnn Rimes, Danny Jones and Tom Fletcher from McFly, with auditions airing tonight.

Replacing Anne-Marie and Olly Murs, the new coaches bring a fresh dynamic to the programme. Ahead of the new series, Sir Tom shared: “We have our new coaches, LeAnn, Danny and Tom, joining myself and Will. It has brought a fresh energy to the show. What amazes me is the brilliant voices that we discover every single year.

“This year we have a fresh bunch of singers and that’s what we are looking for. I look at The Voice being an amazing platform for our homegrown singers to showcase to the world. I think the strength in the variety of coaches is that we are all listening for completely different things, which makes it interesting.”

Catch The Voice on ITV1, Saturdays at 8:30pm.