Ex-Voice of Ireland contestant Catherine Hughes makes her dramatic return to the show this weekend – after being thrown off the show last series while in labour.
The 30-year-old was in hospital last year to give birth to baby Eoin when producers of the RTE series called to boot her off the show for being unable to make the battle stage of the competition.
She had performed in rehearsals earlier that day but went into labour just before she was due to perform against Laura May Lenehan in the sing-off.
Comeback: Catherine was forced to leave The Voice when she had baby Eoin
The Armagh native admitted that she was “gutted” to be out of the singing competition but doesn’t have anything against the show for getting rid of her.
She said: “That’s show business isn’t it? I didn’t feel any grudge, not at all. I had a ball and in hindsight it was a great story. But I couldn’t leave it as it was.
“There was always going to be that ‘what if?’. So I decided the only way to settle it was to come back.”
Scared: Catherine is more nervous second time around to perform for coaches
However, despite her previous experience with the competition, Catherine revealed she was a lot more nervous coming back this year.
“I was far more nervous genuinely. After all the drama and hype last year, I started having all these doubts,” she told The Star.
“It was my husband Darren who gave me the kick up the ass that I needed. He said ‘You’re there because you can sing’, and he just gave me faith in myself again.”
Catherine is the second heavily pregnant singer to appear on The Voice following contestant Kelly Mongan who gave birth to her first baby just weeks after finishing in second place in 2013.
