Ilkley-raised Ricky Wilson, lead singer of chart act Kaiser Chiefs, has been added to the coaching line-up for next year’s The Voice.
He joins Kylie Minogue as a new addition to the panel as show bosses completed a programme revamp after a recently-announced overhaul of the presenters.
Wilson, who has also starred in stage musicals, will effectively replace Danny O’Donoghue as the rock representative among the coaches. He has had chart hits with tracks such as I Predict A Riot, Oh My God and Ruby and performed at the closing ceremony of the London Olympics last year.
He will join regulars Will.i.am and Sir Tom Jones who have appeared on both series of the show, but their fellow panellists Jessie J and The Script frontman O’Donoghue quit in the summer.
Wilson 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 were total superstars. I’m just lucky the Kaiser Chiefs have rubber-stamped my temporary loan.”
BBC controller for entertainment commissioning Mark Linsey said: “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.”
The show will begin in January.
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