Danny O'Donoghue follows Jessie J as he quits BBC's The Voice UK

The Irish singer said he has recording commitments with his band The Script

Danny O'Donoghue and Holly Willoughby congratulate The Voice 2013 winner Andrea Begley (BBC)

Singer Danny O'Donoghue will not be returning to The Voice, he has announced.

The Irish heartthrob, who won the BBC One show this year with partially-sighted singer Andrea Begley, is following in the footsteps of Price Tag star Jessie J, who recently announced she was leaving.

He said that he will not be back as coach next year because of recording commitments with his band The Script.

The announcement leaves half of the four-strong panel of coaches - which also featured Sir Tom Jones and Will.i.am - no longer attached to the BBC show.

Danny said: “I had two wonderful seasons on The Voice and as everybody knows I gave it my heart and soul and couldn't be more proud of the show and what we have achieved.

“My focus will be on The Script moving forward as we are about to embark on the most important part of our career as a band.”

Mark Linsey, BBC controller, entertainment commissioning, said: “Danny has been an absolute star - and a winner - on The Voice but we understand that he, like Jessie, has to focus on his music career and The Script have such an incredibly busy year ahead.

“The Voice coaches are all current music stars with recording and touring careers to manage alongside the show and we know this can be difficult to juggle. We are very sorry to see Danny go but wish him and the band the very best and hope they will come back and perform for us next series.”

The BBC said that the full coaches' line up for the third series will be announced in due course.

PA