Britain’s Got Talent fans are seeing Simon Cowell on stage almost as much as in his judging chair in the latest series. But as the show boss admits he’s getting a taste for joining performers in the limelight, he fears that viewers just want to see him suffer.
Tonight he even got his own golden buzzer after being coaxed to get involved by magic act The Hacker. Simon, 65, says he has not ruled out joining in some more as he admitted: “It’s like going on a rollercoaster. You know it’s going to be really frightening and you shouldn’t do it, but you kind of want to!”
Over the last 18 series, Simon would rarely get on the Britain’s Got Talent stage. Now producers can’t keep him off it.
Simon had a near miss during a stunt earlier in the series, when an act smashed watermelons inches from his head with a sledgehammer.
He explains: “It started when a couple of times I agreed to get involved in something. It’s almost like…how can I put this? I think people on this show just love my pain! I thought, ‘well, if you like it that much, I’ll just go along with it.’ The stuff they did to me this year, wow! I’ve had everything thrown at me this series. It’s scary but good scary.”
Last night The Hacker called Simon on stage for a series of tricks, saying: “It’s time for the judge to be judged.”
The mysterious act said later: “Simon was a great sport. He probably hated every minute but it was great to have him under my control and, against all the odds, he pulled it off in front of millions. Let’s be honest, Simon loved the attention but no one expected what happened. He could do with working on his listening – a little less back chat and bit more concentration going forward. He shows great potential though and nothing is off the table.”
Simon and fellow judges Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden, and Bruno Tonioli were impressed and put The Hacker through to the next round.
So does he plan to recruit another judge for his next performance? “No one is safe from The Hacker,” he teased.
“But given Simon was the one who got the golden buzzer, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go bigger in the live shows. We might be playing with fire. Literally! There’s so much I’d like to do to him. Sorry, with him. The possibilities are unlimited – just like The Hacker’s abilities.”
Also impressing the judges on tonight’s show was singer Louise Hall. The mum-of-one from Pontypool, south Wales, off to a stuttering start, when Simon stopped her mid song while performing Something Beautiful by Jacob Banks and asks her to try a different track. She vowed to “fight” and belts Jennifer Hudson’s hit And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going to a rapturous response.
She last auditioned for BGT last year – but failed to make it past the first round after her performance fell flat. Refusing to take no for an answer, she was back. She previously audition for X Factor back in 2013, making it to the boot camp stage.
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