Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson joins The Voice as new judge

Singer replaces Danny O'Donoghue, joining Kylie Minogue, Tom Jones and will.i.am on the overhauled judging panel

Daisy Wyatt
Thursday 19 September 2013 10:05 BST
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Ricky Wilson, the lead singer of the Kaiser Chiefs, will replace The Script's Danny O’Donoghue as a coach on The Voice next year.

He will join Kylie Minogue as a new addition to the judging panel after Jessie J and Danny O’Donoghue announced their departures earlier this year.

Wilson, whose band's chart hits include "I Predict a Riot", "Oh My God", and "Ruby", said: “Who doesn’t want to spend their Saturday night with Kylie Minogue? I spent last winter yelling at The Voice, and both Sir Tom Jones and will.i.am are total superstars.

“I’m just lucky the Kaiser Chiefs have rubber-stamped my temporary loan.”

Wilson’s appointment comes as part of a major overhaul of the ailing show, which suffered from falling ratings in its second season.

Big Brother presenter Emma Willis and JLS star Marvin Humes - who rose to fame on ITV's The X Factor - will take over hosting duties from Reggie Yates and Holly Willoughby.

The new team will be looking to build the talent show's audience base. This year's final, which saw Andrea Begley crowned victor, outperformed the 2012 equivalent with 7.95 million viewers - but that figure is a far cry from its Simon Cowell-produced rivals.

Next year’s series of The Voice will begin in January to avoid going head-to-head with ITV's Britain's Got Talent.

Mark Linsey, BBC controller for entertainment commissioning, said of Wilson’s appointment: “Ricky is one of the UK music scene's great frontmen. He knows all about performance and will complement the rest of the coaching line-up perfectly.”

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