The Voice: What keeps the chairs turning

ITV Studios’ Huub van Ballegooy and La Voz showrunner Encarna Pardo on casting from 10,000 hopefuls, why Spain has a regret button – and how the format’s reached 80 countries.

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When The Voice launched more than 15 years ago, the first reaction was: “It’s Idol or The X Factor with spinning chairs.” But that missed the fact that the format shifted the balance of power to something much more dynamic – from judges to coaches, from coaches to contestants, and back again.

And there is something absolutely real about hearing a singer before you see them – and authenticity is the buzzword for success in 2026. When an aspiring singer can go direct to the audience, unnecessary TV artifice just gets in the way of something social or YouTube can do as well for them.

Encarna Pardo has run The Voice in Spain since the start, and her enthusiasm for it is infectious. And Huub van Ballegooy has the job of overseeing the format’s roll-out worldwide. I caught up with them both as Encarna was preparing for the current season.

Here’s just the start of what we talked about:

In Spain it’s the regret button. In the US, the same mechanic is the replay button. Huub and Encarna on what this tells you about each country’s approach to the show.
Spain starts with around 10,000 singers. The final round is 300 people and a piano in Madrid. How are the choices made?

Coaches are cast like a football team – you need a striker, a defender and a midfielder to make the show work.

Next Thursday: My Kitchen Rules, the Australian hit format that throws literally everything – including the kitchen sink – at how to stage a cooking contest on TV.