X Factor star Olly Murs is joining ITV rival The Voice as a coach — and the move ‘has annoyed his former mentor Simon Cowell’
X FACTOR discovery Olly Murs is joining rival ITV show The Voice as a coach, The Sun can reveal.
He will replace Gavin Rossdale on the coaches panel alongside Sir Tom Jones, Jennifer Hudson and Will.i.am.
But the move is said to have annoyed his former mentor and colleague Simon Cowell, who had considered the 33-year-old Essex boy a member of the “X Factor family”.
Olly was discovered on the show in 2009 and returned to co-host with Caroline Flack in 2015, taking over from Dermot O’Leary.
A TV insider said: “It’s a huge coup for The Voice to have Olly on board.
“He’s got talent show experience, comedic charm and a huge fanbase. His personality will shine through as a coach.
“It won’t be like when he presented X Factor when he had to remain impartial.”
The insider added: “Simon isn’t happy Olly’s swapped allegiances, especially as he left the X Factor to concentrate on his music.”
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Earlier this year, The Sun revealed that 51-year-old Bush frontman Gavin was dropped by The Voice bosses who believed he “lacked charisma”.
Olly follows in the footsteps of Marvin Humes, 32, who hosted The Voice when it was on the BBC from 2014 to 2016 — despite being discovered on the X Factor as part of JLS.
Singer Rita Ora went the other way, leaving The Voice to join the X Factor as a judge in 2015.
