The Voice UK winners: where are they now?

The new series of The Voice is well and truly underway, with coaches Jennifer Hudson, Tom Jones, Olly Murs and will.i.am all vying to find the nation's next superstar. And while we have a few weeks yet to find out who will be crowned the winner of the eighth season, we're taking a look back at past winners and where they are now, starting with series one champion Leanne Mitchell…

Leanne Mitchell – season one

Mentored by Tom Jones, Leanne was crowned the winner of the very first series of The Voice in 2012. After the show she released her debut single, a cover of Whitney Houston's Run to You. A year later she debuted her eponymous album, but unfortunately it did not have much success in making it into the charts.

Leanne was also involved in a feud with judge Danny O'Donoghue after he criticised her work ethic. She hit back in a lengthy Twitter post, saying that she didn't "think anyone was particularly on my side from the start", and urged her fans not to judge her on "what has been said or written".

Nowadays, Leanne is a proud mum to her and husband Rob's son Leo and continues to perform in venues across the UK as well as abroad on cruise ships.

Andrea Begley – season two

Mentored by The Script's Danny O'Donoghue, Andrea's win wasn't without controversy in 2013 after will.i.am walked off stage when she was announced as the champion. The Black Eyed Peas singer faced backlash after taking to Twitter to voice his disappointment that his own act had not triumphed. "You should feel the audience's vibration in the room tonight after the public's vote... it's unexplainable... so sad... perplexed," he wrote. "Andrea is amazing... don't get me wrong... but we know who has the incredible voice."

That didn't stop Andrea from releasing her debut album The Message which hit number seven in the charts. Since then, Andrea regularly performs in local bars and clubs and has even been on tour. In 2017, she released new single, Never a Pal Like a Mother. And when she isn't studying for her part-time PhD, Andrea has a government job in Belfast.

Partially-sighted as a result of Glaucoma, the singer is also an ambassador for the Royal National Institute of Blind People in Northern Ireland. She even published a book detailing her experiences on the show, titled in a very tongue-in-cheek way, I Didn't See That Coming.

Jermain Jackman – season three

With will.i.am as a mentor, Jermain was hotly tipped to be the next big thing when he took home the trophy in 2014. However, his cover of And I Am Telling You failed to reach the top ten spots in the charts. Although Jermain continued to perform, he eventually revealed that he was quitting music in order to continue his education and get a degree in politics. "I've stepped back from music for now. I saw some things I didn't like and I was losing the love for music," he told TellyMix at the time. "Maybe I'll come back when I'm 23 and I've got my degree in politics."

The Leeds University student also founded Fairer Futures Commission in 2017, an Islington-based organisation that aims to improve the future of children, young people and their families. "I believe everyone has a purpose in life! I believe that every single human being should have the capability and opportunity to reach their full potential in order to make a positive impact on this planet; in my opinion it's the only way we can truly progress as a human race," said Jermain.

Stevie McCrorie – season four

Former firefighter Stevie was mentored by The Kaiser Chiefs' Ricky Wilson in 2015, when he was voted as the winner. His debut single Lost Stars took the sixth spot in the charts, and he embarked on a series of TV appearances and performances.

However, in recent years Stevie admitted that his career in music was making it difficult to properly provide for his wife and their daughter Bibi, and he eventually decided to return to his job as a firefighter. He had been considering the change for a while, having previously told ITV Scotland: "If I go back, it's not because I have given up, I am just looking after my family. I would rather just work hard and work at my career for my family – and work at music as well alongside for my fans." Stevie released the three-track EP Alive in 2017, followed by single All I Want in 2018.

Kevin Simm – season five

Fans of Liberty X were delighted when Kevin first auditioned for The Voice with his impressive rendition of Sia's hit Chandelier. Initially mentored by Paloma Faith, he was stolen by Ricky Wilson after almost being eliminated from the competition and Kevin went on to win. The father-of-two is still performing, and recently released his latest album Recover. He also reunited with his fellow Liberty X bandmembers in 2016 to perform at Birmingham Gay Pride, singing some of their biggest hits from Got to Have Your Love and Just A Little. Kevin is currently the lead singer of soft rock band, Wet Wet Wet.

Mo Jamil – season six

After being crowned the winner of The Voice season six, Mo signed with Polydor Records. His debut album Evolve charted at number 36 in UK charts. The former hotel worker was dropped by his record company shortly after.

Ruti Olajugbagbe – season seven

Ruti's single Dreams hit the top of the iTunes midweek charts in 2018, and she is continuing to prepare more material with her mentor Tom Jones. After winning, she went back to college to finish her studies and complete her A Levels in music, technology, drama and BTec music performance.

Ruti has previously told HELLO! magazine: "I want to make albums. I want to tour. I want to release singles. I want to collaborate with other artists. That's what I want to do. I understand that I'm going to be in the public eye, but I just want to make music. It's really clichéd." She added that she is a huge fan of George Ezra, explaining: "I do have a bit of crush on him but I love the way he sounds. I'd love to duet with him."