Nicole Scherzinger joins The Voice as guest mentor

Nicole Scherzinger and James Arthur have joined \'The Voice\' as guest mentors.

The former \'X Factor\' judge, 40, and the 31-year-old singer - who shot to fame by winning the rival talent show - will help out will.i.am and Sir Tom Jones respectively in The Knockouts round, and Years and Years\' Olly Alexander will aid coach Jennifer Hudson, with Anne-Marie set to lend Olly Murs a hand.

Nicole said: "Mentoring young talent has always been my passion and I\'m so excited to join this season of The Voice UK as a guest mentor.

"will is an exceptional coach and has incredible musical ears, and I was so pleased he asked me to lend my support to nurture these artists throughout this process.

"He has chosen an amazing team and I can\'t wait to see where their journeys take them."

will added: "It was great hanging with Nicole. She\'s family. It\'s good to be around people that you love and support and vice-versa.

"I think Nicole has so much information and perspective. She\'s been through what they\'ve been through, she\'s auditioned before for countless types of gigs.

"From The Pussycat Dolls and got it, to the West End and got it."

James is delighted to be teaming up with Tom and his six wannabes, but only two from each team will progress from The Knockouts to the live semi-final stage.

He said: "It was great working alongside the legend that is Sir Tom Jones and his singers.

"He has a really strong team this year with huge potential ... and hopefully the winner."

Tom said: "James was great. We saw eye to eye or ear to ear, if you like, on what we were hearing.

"He always had an opinion but nine times out of 10 it was the same as mine and confirmed my thoughts so we had a very like-minded approach.

"It was great working with him."

Years and Years singer Olly is a "huge fan" of Jennifer, but admits it will be tough for the coach to whittle her team down from six to two because her hopefuls possess so much talent.

He said: "It was so dreamy to work alongside Jennifer and witness the love and passion she has for her very talented team.

"I\'m a huge fan of hers and I want to be her best friend, her team are so strong I don\'t know how she\'s going to make any decisions between them! It was so much fun hearing everybody sing."

But whatever Jennifer does may not matter as Anne-Marie is confident Murs has the future winner in his team.

She said: "I loved being Olly\'s guest coach on \'The Voice\' this year.

"It was an amazing experience to hear all of the contestants\' voices up close and to hear all of their stories. Always love spending time with Olly and I really think he has a winner in his team!"

Each mentor will accompany the coaches during piano rehearsals and offer guidance to each act before they take to the stage.

\'The Voice UK\' continues on ITV at 8pm on Saturdays, with The Battles concluding this Saturday (09.03.19) and The Knockouts start on Saturday March 16th.