The Voice UK is a reality television singing competition created by John de Mol which is scheduled to premiere in the UK in 2012 on BBC One. The format is Dutch and the original Dutch version of the programme was broadcast in the Netherlands for the first time in 2010 as The Voice of Holland.

The programme was commissioned after a successful first series in the US, where the programme aired on NBC. It will be produced by Shed Media (who also produce Waterloo Road for the BBC) and will air on Saturday nights.

Apply to The Voice UK Open auditions

In 2011, following its success in the US, speculation mounted on whether a UK version would be made; with BBC said to be keen on launching it as its answer to The X Factor following the departure of Simon Cowell from the UK version. It was reported that ITV were desperate to get the rights for The Voice in case The X Factor suffered from Cowell's departure. On 19 June 2011, it was announced BBC had won the rights to The Voice. On 4 October 2011 British singer-songwriter Jessie J was announced by the BBC as the first official coach.Cheryl Cole and Dannii Minogue have also been rumored as coaches for the show.


Format

The series consists of three phases:
Blind audition
Battle phase
Live performance shows

Blind audition
Four judges/coaches, all famous musicians, will choose teams of contestants through a blind audition process. Each judge has the length of the auditionee's performance to decide if he or she wants that singer on his or her team; if two or more judges want the same singer then the singer gets to choose which coach they want to work with.

Battle phase
Each team of singers will be mentored and developed by their coach. In the second stage, coaches will have two of their team members battle against each other by singing the same song, with the coach choosing which team member will advance to the next stage.

Live performance shows
In the final phase, the remaining contestants will compete against each other in live broadcasts. The television audience will help to decide who moves on. When one team member remains for each coach, the contestants will compete against each other in the finale.

Coaches and presenters

Coaches
The BBC offered a judging role to Bruce Dickinson, lead vocalist of Iron Maiden, but he refused to take part, describing the show as "crap and demeaning to everyone involved." After Cheryl Cole was controversially axed from the US version of The X Factor before the programme aired; it is rumoured that the BBC had offered Cole one of the judging roles. It was reported Cole and former UK X Factor co-judge Dannii Minogue, who also left the programme as it clashed with Australia's Got Talent, could be reunited on the panel. It is also being rumoured that Adele has been offered one of the judging roles on the show, and Cee Lo Green has been offered a judging role. However, it is unknown whether he will take it due to his commitments with the American version.
On 4 October 2011, British singer-songwriter Jessie J was announced by the BBC as the first official coach.