Awful news: The Voice’s first-ever winner Ben Saunders has died unexpectedly, aged 43

Here we are again, and sadly, it’s with one of those headlines you never really expect to see: Ben Saunders, the man who kicked off the entire modern The Voice franchise by being its first winner, has died aged 43. His body was discovered on 15 September 2026 in a Dutch lake—a pretty grim headline for anyone who followed talent TV over the past decade and a bit.

Ben Saunders won the very first season of The Voice of Holland in January 2011 and launched a chart-topping debut album that same year.

From London to Dutch TV Legend

Saunders was actually London-born in 1983, but he built his career over in the Netherlands, first dabbling in music before reality TV came knocking. Early days, he and his brother Dean knocked around as part of Follow That Dream—boyband fans of the early 2000s might just about remember the name. Not content with just that, the brothers also teamed up as The Brothers and had a pop at representing the Netherlands at Eurovision; so yes, Saunders' musical CV was not exactly thin even before that famous audition.

Everything changed in 2010, though. He turned up on the debut series of The Voice of Holland, belting out Kings of Leon’s "Use Somebody", which got him snapped up by coach Roel van Velzen. Saunders didn’t just coast through; he took the whole thing, coming out on top in January 2011—and, just like that, he became the first ever winner in what’s now a global telly juggernaut with countless spinoffs.

Albums, Awards, and New Chapters

The show catapulted him. Ben dropped his debut album, You Thought You Knew Me By Now, in 2011—it shot straight to number one in the Netherlands. Then came Heart & Soul in 2012, plus a string of awards, including a nod from MTV’s Europe Music Awards for Best Dutch Act. For someone who could have ended up as 'just another talent show winner', you have to admit he did all right by himself.

The music didn’t stop there, but Saunders later switched gears and went into tattoo artistry, opening up Tattoo Saunders with his brother. Typical reality contestant move: dip your toes back into telly now and again, which he did in 2023 on SBS6’s talent show Avastars.

What Happened and The Response

Fast forward to September 2026. According to Dutch news reports, Saunders’ body was found at Rijkerswoerdse Plassen, a lake near Arnhem. Police say there’s no evidence of foul play, although they’re not saying much else about what happened either. They recovered him a little after 1 in the afternoon, after someone reported him missing that same day—though at the time of writing, cause of death is still unknown.

• Saunders was found dead in a lake near Arnhem on 15 September 2026.
• He was 43 years old.
• Police have ruled out foul play.
• He launched a No. 1 album and later worked as a tattoo artist.

The news broke when Dean Saunders, his brother and musical partner-in-crime, posted on Instagram. Dean’s words didn’t pull any punches: his 'dear little brother' had passed, adding that he’d never felt pain like this before, but that Ben would "stay in his heart forever".

Fans and other names from The Voice world have been putting out tributes since. Marco Borsato, one of the early coaches from the Dutch version, shared both a picture and a video of Saunders on Instagram. The condolences have been pouring in—not just from the music and TV lot, but also from anyone who’s followed The Voice of Holland since the start.