Voice UK Star Talks Mental Health and Day Job

UK finalist has ditched his dream of fame for his day job after struggling to break into the music industry after his time on the show. 

Singer Callum Doignie was mentored by hitmaker Sir during his stint on the series in 2023 and even performed with the Welsh star during the final. 

Following the competition, he went on to collaborate with US hitmaker Teddy Swims and found his band, Callum and The Pookies.

However, Callum, from Telford, has now revealed he has returned to being a tradesman after having a 'difficult' time in the music industry. 

Taking to on Thursday, Callum shared a clip of himself and Sir Tom with the caption: 'No one ever talks about how difficult it is to go from singing in The Voice UK Final with Tom Jones... to going back to being a builder and plasterer.' 

The video then showed him plastering a wall while another showed Callum wearing a face mask and ear defenders while taking a wall down in a property.

He penned: 'Back to reality I guess...'

Fans quickly took to the comments and asked Callum if the 'show offered any mental health support'.   

He confirmed: 'In fairness, credit to ITV, they offered you free therapy for 12 months after the show, the experience as a whole was quite incredible'.

While others told the singer he needs an agent and management team, which he replied, 'that sounds expensive'. 

Another tried to suggest, 'Your channel should be the singing plasterer… just sing and plaster and the followers will come mate'

However Callum pointed out that not everyone would appreciate him singing and using social media while being paid to do a trade. 

He wrote: 'Difficult to do when working on someone's house, not everyone would appreciate me singing and going live in their home'. 

Despite struggling solo, Callum is still enjoying gigging with his band and has upcoming shows in Birmingham and across Shropshire from February to May. 

He and The Pookies have also been releasing original music on streaming platforms since last year, including tracks Pretend and Burned Out. 

It comes after

Judges Will.i.am, Kelly Rowland, Danny Jones and Tom Jones filmed the first part of the series - the auditions - back in 2024, alongside host Emma Willis.

Last June it was reported the start date had been postponed until the start of this year, but now the launch has been moved once again.

'ITV have decided to delay airing The Voice until autumn at the earliest,' a source told The Sun.

'It means there will have been more than two years between the pre-recorded auditions and the live finals. People are now openly talking about The Voice being rested once its upcoming 14th series airs.

'For now, ITV are insisting the long-awaited series will air, but it isn’t exactly a good look.'

An ITV source told the publication: 'The Voice UK is in the schedule for this year.'

Daily Mail has contacted ITV for comment.

The Voice last aired in 2023 and Danny and Tom Fletcher led their act, Ava Manning, to victory.

The singer secured a Universal record deal, £50,000 in prize money, and a luxury holiday to Universal Resort in Orlando.

ITV have had a huge shake-up with their programme schedule. It was recently reported that Celebrity Big Brother will be rested for two years.

However, the civilian series appears to be going from strength to strength, with ITV bosses reportedly drawing up secret plans to extend the autumn run by a whole week so that there is eight weeks of drama in the house.

Sources said the civilian series is 'far cheaper' to produce than its celebrity counterpart, making the return on investment worthwhile.

They also claimed ITV remains fully committed to the format and already has plenty of ideas to keep the show feeling fresh, with an extended run said to be one option currently under consideration.

A source told The Sun: 'Despite the hold on the celeb version, ITV has always insisted that the programme is what they call a ‘priority reality format.'

They continued: 'So it’s reassuring to see plans like this being on the table.

'Extending by a week is something fans have been calling for as past runs have shown the action really only heats up in the latter days.'

The insider claimed ITV remains fully committed to the format and already has plenty of ideas to keep the show feeling fresh, with an extended run said to be one option currently under consideration.