ITV The Masked Singer's Davina McCall defends Olly Murs after he's axed from The Voice panel

Davina McCall has been quick to defend her pal Olly Murs after he was axed from the judging panel on The Voice as she's argued that he's a "brilliant panellist".The 39-year-old popstar, who first rose to fame on the X-Factor in 2009, announced in September that he had been dropped from the ITV talent show after six years.The singer has since gone on to land a guest slot on The Masked Singer but fellow panellist Davina has spoken out to say she was surprised to hear that he had been let go from The Voice in the first place, the Mirror reports.She said: “I’ve known Olly his entire career so it feels like he’s part of my work DNA.

And he’s a brilliant panellist. I really enjoyed having him on the show. "He knows so much about music, he’s great at picking out voices and he’s lovely.

We didn’t talk about The Voice, but he didn’t seem down – he was absolutely chipper.”She adds: “I was surprised about [The Voice decision] because I often look at Olly and think he’s as good a TV presenter as he is a singer, and it’s very difficult to get those two things right.”Davina believes that Joel Dommett, who hosts The Masked Singer on ITV, has the same talents: "He’s as good at comedy as he is at hosting." TV favourite Davina, 56, who has been a panellist on The Masked Singer since 2020, has a close relationship with Joel and his wife Hannah, who she has described as being like her nephew and niece.The pair are so tight that Joel told Davina that Hannah was expecting a baby before he told his own mum.

Davina has also grown closer to her fellow panellist Rita Ora in the past year and even been seen partying with her in Ibiza.She said: “I have different relationships with everyone.