Friday, 2 December 2011

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CONFIRMED Cheryl Cole's mate Will.i.am to be a mentor on new X Factor rival show The Voice

Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.am signs up to the BBC programme

Will.i.am manages Cheryl Cole's US career

Will.i.am is to be a mentor on new BBC show The Voice when it launches in the spring.

The singing contest - which is being billed as the Beeb's answer to The X Factor - offers contestants 'blind' auditions, so they're judged purely on their talent.

'I'm proud to be doing The Voice because the UK was the first place I saw success,' says Will, 36.

'It's the place I'm the most creative outside of home.'

Jessie J, 23, has also been confirmed as a panellist, while Pop Idol winner Will Young, 32, and Welsh singer Tom Jones, 71, are reported to be joining the pair. 

The show will be hosted by This Morning's Holly Willoughby and Radio 1 presenter Reggie Yates, 28.

'I'm so excited to be hosting The Voice,' says Holly, 31.

'When it launched in America I watched one of the shows and thought it was just a fantastic format, and when I heard it was coming to the UK I thought to myself how incredible it would be to be a part of it.

'It's going to be one roller coaster of a ride and I can't wait to get started!'

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Esme Riley