Tom Jones claims he was fired from The Voice UK

Tom Jones has revealed that he didn't want to leave The Voice UK.

In a statement posted on his Instagram, the Welsh music legend alleged that he had been dropped from his coaching role and "did not want to leave".

"To be clear, I did not want to leave The Voice as I love the show and really appreciate the audience," the singer wrote on Tuesday. "ITV made this decision - obviously a while ago, and I was told just recently."

ITV officials have yet to comment on Jones' departure, but The Sun newspaper reports that former Girls Aloud star Cheryl, alongside current judges will.i.am and Kelly Rowland, could be stepping in as his replacement.

"The reason given is because of a financial difficulty with insurance," Jones penned in his social media post. "They now say in the press they wanted to 'refresh' the show, and with a new coaching line-up there wouldn't be a chair for me."

He alleged that he had been offered a "much reduced role" where he would make an appearance without being involved from the start, and he was "not thrilled about that".

"So the only thing I know right now, is that there's never a good time to fire an 86-year-old who's still pretty good at his job," he added.

Since the singing competition's inception in 2012, the It's Not Unusual hitmaker has been on the coaching line-up. However, he was previously dropped before the 2015 season, a decision he called "very disappointing" at the time, before being reinstated for the next series.

Filming for the revamped show will begin in Manchester on Friday, with the ITV series expected to air next year.