THE Voice Kids star Danny Jones has spoken about how “chuffed” he was when his protege won the competition last series.

Speaking as the show is set to return tomorrow on ITV, the musician admitted he starting doubting himself after failing to coach his proteges to victory.

The McFly star was victorious on The Voice Kids last year after 13-year-old Sam Wilkinson, was announced as the champion after performing an original song called Everything’s Alright, plus a duet of the Beatles song Hey Jude.

“Pixie won it every time before, so you start doubting yourself,” said the Bolton-born singer and guitarist, 34.

The Bolton News:

“You start thinking, ‘Am I looking for the wrong thing? Am I coaching wrong?’ ‘What do the public wanna see from the voice kids?’ But then I stuck to what I knew best, which was Sam," said Danny,b“I always think big singers are gonna win it. But for a guy who wrote his own song, to sit there with a guitar, and an understated performance, and win, I was so chuffed. I had to have a word with myself; ‘you do know what you’re doing’.”

Danny, will be back on television alongside fellow celebrity coaches celebrity ‘coaches’ ­— this year, the line-up is will.i.am, Pixie Lott and Paloma Faith ­— in the show hosted by Emma Willis.

The series starts with blind auditions, in which the pint-sized contestants perform in front of the four.

Sitting in big red chairs, the stars press a button if they like what they hear, which swivels them round so they can see the face behind the voice.

The successful auditionees then have battle rounds to make it through, before the semi-finals and final. The prize at stakeis a dream holiday for them and their family, plus a £30,000 bursary towards their musical education.

The Bolton News:

Danny explained what he listens out for during the blind auditions.

He said: “When someone can hold the energy of a room, that’s when it’s like ‘OK!’

“They might not be the best singer, or you might hear nerves, but in those 90 seconds that they’re singing, we’ve got to decide, ‘Can I help them?’”

Danny said he has taught a few new dances while filming this series, thanks to video-sharing platform Tik Tok.

" I’m down with the kids!” he added

“My favourite thing is introducing them to new music and new artists that they never would probably find if I didn’t say it ­— from Sam Fender to Bob Dylan,” he added.

“They come back and they go, ‘My life has changed!’”

The Voice Kids returns to ITV On Saturday, July 11