will.i.am is earning twice as much as the other Voice 'coaches'

will.i.am is taking home half of the £1m earmarked for 'coaches' appear­ance fees on The Voice.

At £500,000, will earns double that of Tom Jones' quarter of a million salary, while Jessie J will scoop "a little less" than that amount.

The singer from The Script will claim the smallest pay cheque but The Guardian report that he will still earn in excess of £100,000 of licence-payers' money for his troubles.

The Voice starts on March 24 on BBC1.