Simon Cowell brutally heckled during ‘raucous’ BGT audition in Blackpool forcing producers to halt filming
SIMON COWELL has had a fair bit of flak over the years, but it reached new levels at the Britain’s Got Talent auditions in Blackpool.
The production team found the recording of the show at the Winter Gardens was constantly interrupted by rowdy hecklers.
Among the boos and repeated insults directed at the 65-year-old judge were yells of, “You old fart” when he criticised any performers.
Although the crew were amused, it turned out to be a bit of a headache because they couldn’t have a recording filled with unpleasant insults hurled from the crowd.
Thankfully Simon knows the barbs are all part of the job.
He saw the funny side of it all because he was one of the biggest fans of taking the auditions to northern cities where crowds are more lively.
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And fellow judges Amanda Holden, Bruno Tonioli and Alesha Dixon were revelling in the spectacle too.
An insider said: “Simon isn’t vain in that way and found the heckling absolutely hilarious — even when they were calling him an old fart.
“He loves having BGT in Blackpool precisely because the crowds are so raucous and enthusiastic.
“And he knows that sometimes he might be on the receiving end of their passion.
“He even encourages them to misbehave, even if sometimes the misbehaviour can cause a headache for the production team.
“Thankfully they were compensated for any hassle by a rare chance to have a good laugh at the boss’s expense.”
The show returns to ITV for its 18th series on February 22, filling the Saturday night slot vacated by The Masked Singer, the final of which airs this weekend.
I’ve a feeling we’ll be seeing a drastically edited version of what happened in Blackpool.
DAVID'S JOINING OASIS
HE is busy planning for a return to TV with co-star Matt Lucas, but David Walliams reveals there is another pressing matter – the Oasis tour.
The comic says Noel Gallagher has invited him to the band’s coveted Live ’25 – but insists it has to be their first gig on July 4 when Liam will “still have his voice”.
David told Heart radio: “I went to see them back in the day, in a nightclub when they were just starting out, about ’95.
“I saw Noel the other day and he said, ‘Come to Cardiff, because it’s the first show, and Liam will still have his voice’, so I’ve got to go to Cardiff.”
This week, the Little Britain co-stars confirmed they have been working on a number of comedy concepts.
Matt teased: “We’re kicking a few ideas around, we’ve had some meetings, and we shall see as there’s nothing to report yet.
“We’ve got two or three ideas in development.”
LINDA'S TELLY RETURN
LOOSE Women’s Linda Robson will be back on the telly five years after Birds Of A Feather finished – with a role in Channel 5’s The Good Ship Murder with Shayne Ward and Catherine Tydlesley.
Linda told me: “I’m off to film for eight days in Malta! I play a cabin steward.”
JORDAN TEASES CBB GIG
JORDAN NORTH has hinted he will appear in Celebrity Big Brother this summer.
The Capital Breakfast radio told me on the red carpet at the TV Choice Awards: “I’ve signed up for an ITV show, but can’t say what yet.
"We start filming in April.
"I’m excited, it’s intense.
"Many people don’t think I’d do it but when I got asked, I was like, ‘It’ll be a laugh’.”
Jordan also confirmed other stars will feature but would not say who.
Celebrity Big Brother is, yes, due to start filming in April, following the success of its reboot on ITV last spring.
Meanwhile Jordan, runner-up on I’m A Celeb in 2020, also said he hopes to join the recently commissioned second run of all-star spin-off I’m A Celeb . . . South Africa.
ADAM ON HIS LAST WARNING
IT airs after the watershed, but that doesn’t mean that Adam Hills and the panellists on The Last Leg are allowed to turn the air blue.
The host revealed that the popular Channel 4 series was close to being thrown off air last Friday, thanks to comedian Sophie Willan.
The Alma’s Not Normal actress laid into American President Donald Trump, by calling him a “c***y-chop”, leaving Adam apologising to viewers.
He told Chris Evans on Virgin Radio: “My problem was, I wasn’t sure if she was saying a Northern word I wasn’t aware of that is a lovely word.
“But there are some things you want to hear from your producer in your ear and, ‘You’re about to be thrown off-air’ is not one of them.”
QUIZ MIX-UP
CHANNEL 5 has made a, err, puzzling U-turn over one of its primetime quiz shows.
Puzzling, presented by TV historian Lucy Worsley, which was shelved a year ago after just one series, has been revived.
A second series of the problem-solving show could air later this year.
STACE TAKES FALL
LINDSEY COULSON’s Dame Stella Drake ruffled a few feathers with her new rules on her Waterloo Road debut last night – but soon, it will leave both her and her students in danger.
A first look at an upcoming episode of the BBC drama shows the headteacher found bruised and unconscious by Stace (Tillie Amartey) after a shocking attack.
Stace is left in tears after dealing with the incident, and calls for help from medical professionals who work to help Stella make a speedy recovery.
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But things threaten to boil over as Stace struggles to reveal what she knows, being the only person to see the attack.
Waterloo Road continues next Tuesday at 9pm on BBC One.