SIMON Cowell has called out his “awful and horrible” behaviour towards Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent.
His ITV co-stars also came under fire as the music mogul reminisced on the Scottish singer’s showstopper audition back in 2009.
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Simon Cowell has slammed the BGT panel’s ‘awful and horrible’ conduct towards Susan Boyle on the ITV series Credit: Youtube/Celebrity Trenches
Susan wowed with her performance of Les Miserables track, I Dreamed A Dream, which turned her into a worldwide viral sensation Credit: ITV
Susan, 65, stunned the Britain’s Got Talent panel with her performance of Les Miserables track, I Dreamed A Dream, which turned her into a worldwide viral sensation overnight.
Judges Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden were left speechless as SuBo belted out the iconic musical theatre tune.
Though Simon, 66, has now called out their initial scepticism of the singer – and the “looks” they gave each other before she burst into song.
In a frank chat with the Tales From The Celebrity Trenches podcast, he said: “I look back and I just think, ‘my God we look so awful, horrible.’
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Judges Piers Morgan, Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell appeared sceptical of the Scot before she sung Credit: Ken McKay
Simon called out Piers’ ‘look’ towards the star Credit: ITV
Susan, 65, is now famous worldwide Credit: Michael Schofield
Simon said the audition was a ‘wake up call’ Credit: Youtube/Celebrity Trenches
“I actually don’t think we look bad enough. I think we were even worse than that and they went, ‘you look awful’.
“And I said, ‘we are awful!’ All of us.
“I mean that look that Piers gives me, I think out of all the looks I’ve ever remembered that might be the worst. I was just as bad”.
Talking of the ITV show’s editing process the dad of one added: “Of course I had the ability to cut all of that stuff out but it was a bit of a wake up call.
Timeline of BGT Winners
Britain’s Got Talent has been thrilling fans since it burst onto the scene in 2007.
Here we take a look at all the BGT winners – from the first ever one to the most recent:
2007: Paul Potts – The first ever winner of BGT was opera singer Paul Potts. He saw off competition from Connie Talbot, The Bar Wizards, Bessie Cursors, Damon Scott and Kombat Breakers to win.
2008: George Sampson – In series two of Britain’s Got Talent a young George Sampson wowed judges and viewers with his impressive dance moves.
2009: Diversity – Dance troupe Diversity scooped the BGT crown and beat of competition from singer Susan Boyle, who was strongly tipped to win the show.
2010 – Spellbound: Gymnastic troupe Spellbound really impressed judge Simon Cowell with their stunning routines and incredible stunts in 2010. At the time, the music mogul said: “I can only say on live television that was one of the most astonishing things I have ever seen.”
2011 – Jai McDowall: Viewers were stunned when Jai McDowall won the show in 2011, as young singer Ronan Parke was the favourite to win the series.
2012 – Ashleigh and Pudsy: Ashleigh Butler and her adorable pooch Pudsey stole hearts when they performed in series six of the talent show.
2013 – Attraction: Hungarian shadow artist group Attraction won the seventh series of Britain’s Got Talent. The squad had taken part in the German version of BGT in 2012, however, they had only placed seventh.
2014 – Collabro: Classical music band Collabro faced tough competition in the 2014 final as all the finalist were singers, but they went on to scoop the crown.
2015 – Jules O’Dwyer & Matisse: Dog lovers everywhere could’t get enough of Jules O’Dwyer and pet pup Matisse. The impressive duo even performed on a tightrope to secure their win.
2016 – Richard Jones: Army man Richard Jones became the first magician in the show’s history to win Britain’s Got Talent.
2017 – Tokio Myers: Pianist Tokio Myers impressed the judges with his blend of classical and electronic music.
2018 – Lost Voice Guy: Stand-up comedian Lost Voice Guy, who performs with a speech synthesiser, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was six months old. However, he defied the odds and is a BGT champ.
2019 – Colin Thackery: Veteran army officer Colin Thackery warmed the nations hearts with his singing voice. He was crowned winner of BGT after singing Michael Ball’s Love Changes Everything.
2020 – Jon Courtenay: Singer and pianist Jon Courtenay was Ant and Dec’s Golden Buzzer act. After he won the £250,000 prize he said: “Just amazing, I can’t believe it.”
2022 – Axel Blake: Comedian Axel Blake scooped the crown after the show was off air for two years during Covid.
2023 – Viggo Venn: Known for his high-vis jackets, comedian Viggo Venn was victorious in 2023.
2024 – Sydnie Christmas: The reigning champ is singer Sydnie Christmas.
“You can’t judge a book by its cover”.
After her audition, in which Susan said she wanted to be like Elaine Paige, judge Piers said he was “reeling in shock”.
Amanda added: “I am so thrilled because I knew everyone was against you.
“I honestly think we were all being really cynical and I think that’s the biggest wake up call ever.
“I just want to say it was a complete privilege listening to that”.
‘We do look disgusting but you have to hold your hands up at that moment and go, “A lot of people are going to realise in about 24 hours that we are just horrible.”
Previously, Susan told how she felt like she was in a “freak show” during the live show audition.
She told the Irish Mirror at the time: “It felt quite suffocating, almost as though I was an act in a freak show, and that hurt”.
The singer finished as runner-up in the third series of Britain’s Got Talent, with dance troupe Diversity being crowned the winners.
However, coming second doesn’t appear to have done Susan any damage.
The star went gone on to achieve 23 million album sales – signing to Simon’s label, a cluster of UK and US number ones and a stack of Guinness World Records.
In 2019, she returned to the show after 10 years and Simon rushed to embrace her on-stage.
Last month, she showed off her glam new home.
She previously remained in the modest council house she grew up in, despite having a fortune worth millions.
The songstress has now switched the West Lothian home to move closer to her manager.
She has also gained a celeb superfan – in the form of US actor Timothee Chalamet.
