'The Voice' UK host Reggie Yates: 'X Factor comparisons are unfair'
Published Jun 21 2012, 07:40 BST | By Amy Bell
The Voice UK's Reggie Yates has said that comparisons between the show and The X Factor are "unfair".Speaking to The Sun, the host denied suggestions that the BBC talent contest looked cheaper and less polished than its ITV rival, and asserted that the production team had done a "bloody good job" on its first series.
© BBC/Wall to Wall/Guy Levy
© BBC/Wall to Wall/Guy Levy
'The Voice' UK coaches Sir Tom Jones, will.i.am, Jessie J and Danny O'Donoghue
Yates said: "If you look at the first episode to the final, you can see the production, the lighting got better. We got better, everything got better week on week because we were learning.
"To compare us to The X Factor, which has been on for nine years, just feels unfair. We'd just started, and if you rule out all the comparisons and look at what we did, then I think you'd see we did a bloody good job first time around.
"I think what the judges did worked. If you produce great talent that's all that matters. It's not about bitching and rowing, it's about making sure people get better every week. And that's what everyone needs to get their head around.
"It's not that kind of show, there are no backstage antics, there are no dressing rooms with huge hot tubs in them."
© BBC/Wall to Wall/Guy Levy
© BBC/Wall to Wall/Guy Levy
Despite defending the show, however, Yates revealed that he still did not know whether he or Holly Willoughby would be lined up to present The Voice UK's second series, adding: "None of us know yet if we'll be back on The Voice, I'm sure there are lots of conversations happening at the BBC.
"But you know what it's like with these big entertainment shows, everyone finds out at the last minute. I'm waiting much like everything else. I want to be back, if it happens, I'd be chuffed to be back, because it's so much fun."
It was confirmed earlier this week that all dates for The Voice UK's live tour had been cancelled due to poor ticket sales.
Leanne Mitchell, the winner of the show's first series, also suffered embarrassment after her debut single, a cover of Whitney Houston's 'Run to You', only reached number 45 in the UK charts.
Watch Reggie Yates and Holly Willoughby talk about The Voice UK below:
Reggie was the one making X Factor/The Voice comparisons at the beginning. Changing his tune now The Voice has ... well, let's not say 'flopped' ... wilted a bit.
June 27th 2012 at 2:37pm
If The BBC wants to do something different, why does it not bring back "Last Choir Standing"? That was a really good show, a different idea to all the rest and the first series produced the winners Only Men Aloud who have gone to have reasonable success. I seem to remember it got around 5 million viewers which wasn't too bad for Saturday nights in July/August. It could be bigger.
June 22nd 2012 at 8:59am
Don't forget the runners up have done very poorly as well. Tyler James entered the charts at #39, Bo Bruce, Max Milner and Vince Kidd all failed to chart in the top forty!!
June 21st 2012 at 12:17pm
None of them have officially released anything as singles so Tyler getting to #39 is somewhat of an achievement. There has been no marketing put into the music and yet the compilation album is at #30 in the compilations chart and Bo's EP reached #5 in the album charts. Albums are much more important than singles.
June 21st 2012 at 1:47pm(+3 likes)
Comparisions are to the X-Factor are unfair are they?? http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s154/the-voice-uk/news/a369702/the-voice-is-more-credible-than-x-factor-says-reggie-yates.html
June 21st 2012 at 11:53am(+1 like)
I think we're used to blatant double standards from The Voice by now.
June 21st 2012 at 2:45pm
This guy is a tool, (if I heard him say 'our artists' again I would flip out, so ridiculous) he is one of the many reasons this show was awful. They are the one's who wanted it as a rival to X Factor and now they are backing down? lol!
June 21st 2012 at 11:47am