ITV The Voice axes second celebrity mentor after Olly Murs fumed at show

29 October 2023 , 17:15

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ITV The Voice axes second celebrity mentor after Olly Murs fumed at show

The Voice has reportedly axed a second mentor in the wake of Olly Murs' stinging attack on the ITV show after his own exit was confirmed.

Anne-Marie now appears to have suffered the same fate as the Dance With Me Tonight Star as the broadcaster embarks on a full-scale shakeup ahead of the 2024 series. The 32-year old joined the show in 2021 and appeared to be a popular addition alongside Murs, Tom Jones and will.i.am.

But it seems the new series - which begins on Saturday November 4 - will be her last. ITV bosses are reportedly keen on bringing in "hotter" stars from the industry.

Anne-Marie joined the show in 2021 (ITV)

Olly Murs admitted news of his axing came as a 'shock' (ITV)

A source told the Sun: "Anne-Marie has loved being part of the show but producers want to give the series a refresh. ITV wants to ensure that the show pulls in teens, so they are always looking at who is hot in the music world."

It comes after Olly revealed his disappointment at his shock impending departure. "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," he said. "I didn’t expect that," he told the Mirror.

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He continued: "They’ll find someone great, I’m sure. But am I going to miss it? Yeah. Did I want to leave? No. Will I still watch the show? Of course, but it’ll be sore thinking that could have been me." And he added in the Sun: "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. I don't want to bulls**t my fans or bulls**t people who watch the show, and say, 'Oh, it was an amicable decision to leave — I've got lots of things on next year, I can't do it any more'."

Despite being dumped, Olly will still have to attend the launch of the new series. On the back of his comments, ITV told The Mirror: "The Voice UK returns to ITV1 and ITVX for a brand new series later this year featuring coaches will.i.am, Sir Tom Jones, Anne-Marie and Olly Murs. Details of the 2024 series will be confirmed in due course."

Olly now looks set to replace another Voice UK alum in the form of Rita Ora on ITV's The Masked Singer UK. The 39-year old, who shot to fame on X Factor in 2009, will join Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross and comedian Mo Gilligan on the next series.

Rita, 32, is said to be unable to fulfill filming commitments to the show due to diary clashes. One of those is due to her being lined up to replace singer Nicole Scherzinger on The Masked Singer US, whilst she is set to star in Andrew Lloyd Webber's West End production of Sunset Boulevard.

Mirror Online has invited a spokesperson for Anne-Marie to comment.

Alan Johnson