Sir Tom Jones was axed for series five of The Voice UK, before returning a year later when the singing competition swapped from the BBC, to rival broadcaster ITV.

Sir Tom Jones once brutally described the BBC as a “cold place” after he was dropped for the fifth series of The Voice.

The veteran singer was one of the original coaches alongside Black Eyed Peas star will.i.am, singer Jessie J, and the Script’s Danny O’Donoguhue. But after four series, BBC bosses reportedly told him his contract would not be renewed.

Sir Tom, 84, said he had spent the summer anticipating the show would be recommissioned, and heard rumours Paloma Faith would be replacing then-judge Rita Ora, who had moved to ITV and the X Factor.

However, with just a month to go before filming was due to start, Tom says producers rang his agent saying he would not be “invited back”, with Boy George taking over.

The Delilah hitmaker said he was left “shocked” by the news. Writing in his 2016 autobiography Over The Top and Back, he explained: “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.”

Tom goes on to admit “nobody has the right to think of themselves as a permanent fixture”, and when his management questioned the decision to replace the star, the star claims BBC bosses simply said he was “out of contract”.

He continued: “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.

“It’s a shame because I always treasured the BBC – always had this strong British attachment to it.”

Tom “liked” tuning into The Voice itself, and after a one series absence, returned as a judge when the programme made the switch from BBC to ITV. He will be returning for the fifth round of auditions tonight alongside fellow judges LeAnn Rimes, will.i.am and Danny Jones and Tom Fletcher from McFly.

LeAnn replaces outgoing coach Anne Marie with Danny and Tom in for Olly Murs. Ahead of the new series, Tom said: “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.”