The Script have praised The Voice and the effect it has had on their band.

The group's mainman Danny O'Donoghue signed to appear on the UK version of the TV talent show alongside the likes of Jessie J and Sir Tom Jones.

Writing in the Daily Star, the singer said that featuring on the series opened up his band to a bigger audience, inspiring new fans. He said:

"People knew the name of the band and the songs but didn't know us, or they might have seen me on something but didn't know the name of the band. And then The Voice happened. If you didn't know who I was at the start of it, by the end you were probably sick of me. It's brought our ideology as The Script and as people to the forefront and I think that's great. It would have been a crime not to have someone from a band up there, not just for us to get more recognition, but for bands in general."

They continued: "Bands aren't getting played on radio the way they used to, especially ­guitar-playing bands. After The Voice, kids were coming up to me and saying 'I learned to play guitar like you did on the U2 tune' or 'I learned piano like you played on that song'."

O'Donoghue appeared on the first series of The Voice UK earlier this year and has signed up for season two.