The Voice UK 2022: air date, coaches, the new twist and everything we know

Get ready for those big, red chairs to start spinning around again as The Voice UK 2022 is back with a bang! 

With Autumn TV kicking off in style, part of the new season lineup on ITV is The Voice UK 2022. Emma Willis is back once again as host for the much-loved singing show, and here is everything we know about the new season as the Blind Auditions begin...

The Voice UK 2022: When does it start?

The Voice UK returns on Saturday, September 3 at 8 pm on ITV. The show will air straight after The Masked Dancer UK 2022 on ITV.

The Voice UK 2022: Are all the coaches back?

They are indeed! In the first of the Blind Auditions, aspiring recording artists will be singing their hearts out to impress the show's superstar coaches Olly Murs, Sir Tom Jones, Anne-Marie and will.i.am in the hope they like what they hear enough to make those famous chairs turn. 

The Voice UK 2022: We hear the audience is back, too!

That's right. After being dropped in favor of a virtual audience throughout the pandemic, the live studio audience is back. And, Olly, for one, is delighted.

"I enjoyed doing The Voice UK last year but, having a crowd again, it feels like the show has got its missing piece back," he says. "It's just so lovely to have people in a room smiling and enjoying themselves. It feels fun again and more alive. I thrive off an audience, I love the energy they bring. We made it work last year but, this year, we're back with a bang!"

As the show's unofficial fifth 'coach', the audience can give our superstar coaches a little encouragement in their decision-making.

"The audience is seeing what we as coaches don't see with our backs to the singers," explains Olly. "So if they're on their feet throughout the entire performance, you think: ‘I’m missing something here, I’d better press my button’. So it helps to have the audience back, definitely."

The Voice UK 2022: What's new for this series?

This 11th series also sees a fresh new addition to the usual format. The hopefuls who make it through the Blind Auditions will be invited to The Callbacks to determine who makes it through to the semi-final — meaning the Battles have been knocked out!

"Having The Callbacks round might help me out because I found the battles really tough last year; having to look at the singers’ faces after they've just given it their all was so hard," says Anne-Marie. "So I’m hoping The Callbacks are gonna make things a little bit easier on me."

The Voice UK 2022: Are the coaches feeling competitive?

Yes, you could say that! Anne-Marie won in her coaching debut last year with Scottish singer-songwriter Craig Eddie, scuppering Olly’s chances of making it three victories in a row. So the competition is DEFINITELY on! 

"Hats off to Anne-Marie, she came in, found some great talent and pitched well, so she deserved to win and Craig was a worthy winner," says Olly, who won with Molly Hocking in 2019 and Blessing Chitapa in 2020. "At the first blind auditions show of this series, Anne-Marie came out wearing a tiara and giving a little queen's wave and me, Tom and will.i.am were like her royal servants!"

But Olly fully intends to take back his crown.

"Anne-Marie is the Queen of The Voice at the moment but we're just going to have to see what happens," he says. "All the coaches have come back fresh and ready to go and there's some amazing talent again."

The Voice UK 2022: How many spots does each coach have on their team?

The coaches have just 10 spots on their teams this series, so choosing their singers is tougher than ever before. 

"The hardest thing is when the audience is screaming for us to turn around for every singer that comes out but we only have 10 spaces. It's so stressful," admits Anne-Marie. "I always think: ‘Maybe better singers are coming’. I overthink things, don’t press my button then get annoyed with myself that I should have turned around. This series, I’m trying to step outside my comfort zone a bit and choose singers from every corner of music."

The Voice UK 2022: We love the banter between the coaches. Is there more this series?

We enjoy watching and listening to new talent, of course. But we also love the bits in-between the Blind Auditions, when the coaches share personal stories - or often burst into impromptu song. And Olly just loves sitting beside the king of the singers, Sir Tom Jones.

"Tom has inspired me a lot since I joined this show and has made me look at my career very differently," says Olly. "He’s like the godfather of this industry; he’s given me lots of advice and I’ve been like a sponge, soaking it all up. Just being sat next to the great man and listening to his stories and the enthusiasm he has, at the age he is and with the career he's got right now, you can't help but be inspired."

Is there a trailer for The Voice UK 2022? 

Yes, a short teaser trailer has been released and it shows the coaches back in their famous red chairs... but while Anne-Marie is feeling very smug about last year's win, her fellow coaches seem to be playing a little trick on her...