Britain’s got
You’ve got acts coming from all over the world to compete. That makes it exciting Simon Cowell on the enduring appeal of the itV talent show
Simon Cowell admits he would love to work with Cheryl Tweedy again, seven years after they last teamed up on The X Factor.
The pair were among a sea of famous faces to appear on Ant and Dec’s final Saturday Night Takeaway last weekend.
And Simon thoroughly enjoyed seeing Cheryl again, saying: “It was amazing, she hasn’t changed at all.
“I miss her. We had great fun together. So it was a bit of a reunion.”
Asked if he would work with Cheryl, 40, again, he said: “With the right show, 100 per cent. Because I think she was a really, really good judge.”
Simon, 64, wrote in his 2012 biography he had wanted to have an affair with Cheryl, saying she “played with me like a beautiful cat”.
The stars have both become parents since, with Simon’s son Eric, nine, getting on well with Cheryl’s lad Bear, seven.
In fact, Simon clearly values Eric’s judgment on a lot of things – including the acts on Britain’s Got Talent, which returns this weekend for its 17th series.
Eric often accompanies his dad to the theatre auditions and also watches rough cuts of the shows at home.
And Simon admitted his son has influenced the way he evaluates the performers – such as Kimberly Winter, who belches along to ABBA tunes.
In the past, Simon could always be relied upon to give the most bonkers contestants short shrift.
But Kimberley is greeted with whoops and cheers rather than red Xs.
“You’ve got to remember she was doing it in tune, to ABBA, she wasn’t just burping – that’s a skill,” he said.
On Eric’s contribution, he added: “All the time, I’m looking at him. When we get the shows to watch before they go out, if he’s around, I’m looking.
“If he just walks straight past the TV, I’m thinking, ‘Maybe it isn’t very good’.
“Occasionally, he’ll creep back in and put his head around and I’m thinking, ‘Maybe this is better than I thought’.
“Because with kids, you can’t cheat it. What they like, they like.”
Britain’s Got Talent first aired in 2007 and Simon cannot believe how long it has lasted. “This show has a very interesting history,” he said. “We did a pilot here and it was rubbish. Then we sold it to America and it was a hit.”
That success paved the way for ITV to have a rethink. “I thought, if we could get three or four years out of this, it will
be amazing,” Simon said. “And then you reach 10 and go, ‘That’s a milestone’.
“Because the show has all ages, I think it’s going to be here a long time.”
But other plans for the show did not quite come off.
In 2012, Simon announced he had teamed up with Virgin boss Richard
Branson to offer the winner a prize of a flight in the tycoon’s Virgin Galactic spaceship. Twelve years on, it has yet to happen.
Simon said: “I kept calling him saying, ‘When is the spacecraft ready?’ And I never heard another word. He owes me an act in space.”
But Simon believes the show is at its best being more down-to-earth, saying: “You’ve got acts coming from all over the world to compete. So I think that makes it more exciting – because that’s real life.”
This Saturday’s first act, Rask AI, use artificial intelligence
to turn Simon and fellow judges Amanda Holden, Bruno Tonioli and Alesha Dixon into characters from The Greatest Showman. He said: “It’s another example of someone doing something different.” Later, singer Sydnie
Christmas brings the house
down with her rendition of Tomorrow, from Annie. And Simon is impressed by Ssaulabi Performance Troupe, a group from South Korea who fly around the stage.
Meanwhile, the show boss is glad to have someone older than him on the panel.
During the series launch in London, he joked: “Bruno just said to me, ‘Darling, I need botox’. I said, ‘Why do you think we hired you?’”
Acknowledging the others all look younger than their actual ages, the Italian dancer, 68, said: “I am the only person on screen with wrinkles.”
And as his look goes, Simon has worn his trademark jeans and white T-shirt combo for years, occasionally switching it up with... a black T-shirt.
“I don’t think anyone’s ever copied my fashion,” he said.
Britain’s Got Talent returns on Saturday at 7.30pm on ITV1/ITVX.
Cheryl hasn’t changed at all... it was a bit of a reunion. She was a really good judge Simon Cowell on catching up with his old x-factor pal, cheryl tweedy