BBC executive "truly sorry" Tom Jones was hurt by The Voice axe
Tom blasted the way it was handled earlier this month
A BBC boss has said he’s “truly sorry” that Tom Jones was left aggrieved when he was abruptly axed from The Voice.
Shortly after the new judging line-up was made public (Paloma Faith and Boy George joining Ricky Wilson and will.i.am), Tom made an emotionally charged statement on Facebook saying he had "no idea" or "no warning" he was leaving.
He wrote: "I was told yesterday, with no consultation or conversation of any kind, that I would not be returning.”
Taking a swipe at the BBC executives, Tom blasted: “This sub-standard behaviour from the executives is very disappointing.”
Now, the BBC’s director of television Danny Cohen has expressed his regret that Tom is upset.
Speaking at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, Mr Cohen said: “I’ve got huge respect for Tom and I’m truly sorry he’s upset, because I am a big fan of his.
“I think he’s a gentleman, I think he’s an extraordinary figure in music and you’ll have seen the huge respect that all of the artists have had for him on The Voice throughout.”
Ahead of his appearance at V Festival at the weekend, Sir Tom shared a pic of himself and Ricky Wilson backstage.
He wrote: “Caught up with an old friend at V-Festival...Good man Ricky Wilson.”
The Voice returns to BBC in early 2016.
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)0; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); > Caught up with an old friend at V-Festival...Good man Ricky Wilson> > > Posted by