The Voice: Contestant and Home & Away star has link to Guy Sebastian

Last week, Guy Sebastian’s brother Chris was forced to deny The Voice was rigged after his audition for the show sparked cries of an ‘unfair’ advantage.

And now, former Home and Away star Mark Furze has revealed his friendship with the 38-year-old coach, admitting that fans may find it suspicious. 

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia ahead of his blind audition on Monday, Mark, 34, said that people are inevitably going to think there’s a conflict of interest.

Mark said he wasn’t willing to let his friendship with Guy stop him from going on The Voice and showcasing his talent.

But he was also determined not to join Guy’s team, fearing that viewers would accuse the former Australian Idol winner of favouritism.

‘I know Guy really well, he’s great,’ said Mark, who has appeared in two of Guy’s music videos in the past. 

When asked about his connection to Guy and whether this would raise eyebrows, Mark said he’d spent a long time weighing up the decision. 

‘It’s one of those things, people are going to think it’s a conflict of interest, but part of me was like, “I can’t go with Guy,”‘ he said.

‘On one hand, I wanted to impress him because he’s my friend and two, I’ve never heard a better singer…. he’s just a phenomenal singer. 

‘But on the other hand I was like, “Do I not go for this opportunity ’cause I know someone on this show?”

Mark, who played Ric Dalby on Home and Away from 2004 to 2008, said he also knew crew members on The Voice because of his experience in the industry.

‘Some people might think it’s a conflict of interest, too, but you kind of can’t avoid it,’ he said. 

‘Yeah I know Guy, one of the coaches, but I also know about six of the crew members. One of the guys was a camera operator on Home and Away.

‘It’s just the nature of the industry.’

Mark, who left Home and Away to pursue his acting and music career, admitted he was ‘nervous’ about auditioning for The Voice.   

‘I can’t remember being that nervous for anything,’ he said. ‘I was there all day, waiting nine hours to audition and getting more and more in my head.

‘And then you go out and there and you’ve got 90 seconds. And also being a rock singer, it’s an intense and high-energy way of singing, but walking out to complete silence…’ 

It comes after Guy’s brother Chris auditioned for the Channel Nine singing competition, sparking debate on Twitter. 

Many viewers claimed that Chris should not have been allowed to audition because his family link made it ‘unfair’ on the other contestants. 

Chris, 31, had anticipated the backlash however and denied the competition was ‘rigged’ before his audition had even aired.

Speaking to Woman’s Day last week, Chris said he had already ‘ruled out’ choosing Guy as his mentor because he wanted to step out of his brother’s shadow.

He said: ‘I had him ruled out from the beginning. I’d hate people to think I wasn’t there for my own abilities or it was rigged. 

‘I didn’t want anyone to think I was getting special treatment.’

Chris auditioned during last Monday’s episode, to his older brother’s apparent surprise. 

Guy and Boy George were the first to turn their chairs as Chris sang Jealous by Labrinth. He eventually chose Kelly Rowland as his mentor afterwards.

‘I absolutely feel like Chris shouldn’t [have] been allowed to audition,’ one viewer tweeted after the episode, while another added, ‘Chris Sebastian, Guy will hire him.’

One outraged fan described it as ‘so inappropriate’ and a ‘conflict of interest’.

But others came to the talented singer’s defence, and said people need to ‘get over’ the fact Guy and Chris are brothers and respect Chris as an artist in his own right.