Telecinco to broadcast La Voz Kids, despite death of young contestant

Spanish TV channel Telecinco has decided that it will broadcast in its entirety a pre-recorded episode of talent show La Voz Kids, despite the fact that one of the contestants, 11-year-old Iraila, died after a long battle with cancer on Monday. When news of the youngster’s passing was made public, the channel announced it would be consulting with her family as to whether or not the episode should be shown.

Sources close to Iralia’s family said that they wanted the program to be broadcast as a tribute to her. “She had high hopes of being an artist,” explained the same sources. “She was an only child and her parents got behind her to help her with her dreams of being a singer. They were so excited about it.”

Telecinco, which is part of the Mediaset group, released a brief statement on Wednesday saying that the episode would be broadcast exactly as it was taped. “Respecting the wishes of Iraila’s family, Telecinco will broadcast La Voz Kids [on Thursday] without any changes to the content, which was recorded several months ago,” the statement read.

Both Telecinco and the producer of the popular format, which has been broadcast in a number of different countries, left the last word on the issue to the young girls’ parents.

The death of Iraila has caused great sadness among the team behind the show, as well as the celebrities who act as coaches for the contestants on this children’s version of the hit format. Spanish singing stars Malú, David Bisbal and Rosario all sent their condolences this week via the social networks, with one message reading: “She transmitted great happiness. She was incredibly sweet and she sang really well.”