Britain’s Got Talent Simon Cowell concerns viewers as he’s 'missing' for heartbreaking reason

Simon Cowell was missing from the Britain's Got Talent judging panel and Ant and Dec were forced to address his absence during the latest episode of the ITV show

Viewers of Britain's Got Talent were left puzzled after Simon Cowell was absent for parts of the most recent episode.

The popular ITV show returned to our screens on Saturday night (March 22) in search of Britain's next big talent. Judges Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, Bruno Tonioli and guest judge KSI were back in charge, along with hosts Ant and Dec.

However, noticeably absent at various points throughout the episode was Simon Cowell. In place of Simon, KSI had stepped up to fill his seat on the panel, joining Amanda, Alesha and Bruno.

Interrupting the show to announce the news, Ant and Dec stated: "We have a spare chair. Unfortunately Simon can''t be with us today. So we have a very special guest judge KSI.", reports

Simon's absence certainly sparked conversation among viewers online. On X, one individual commented: "A show without Simon? ! ." Another posted: "Ahhh Simon was off when Liam Payne died," accompanied by a sad face emoji.

Simon missed the audition - which took place at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool in the first week of October 2024 - following the death of Liam Payne. The singer tragically passed away aged 31 on October 16, 2024, after a fatal fall from a hotel balcony in Argentina.

The audition process for Britain's Got Talent was halted following the sad news of Liam Payne's passing. An ITV representative released a statement saying: "Due to the tragic passing of Liam Payne, we have decided to postpone the Britain's Got Talent auditions. Our thoughts are with Liam's friends, family and all who loved him."

A week after the tragedy, auditions for the show continued in the absence of Simon Cowell, with YouTuber KSI stepping in as a temporary replacement.

Simon Cowell originally met Liam when the latter tried out as a solo act on The X Factor at 14 years old back in 2008 - yet he didn't make it past the pre-live show stage. Following advice to "return in two years", Liam made his X Factor comeback in 2010 during the competition's seventh series.

Liam would eventually go on to join Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik to form One Direction.

Under Simon's guidance, the boyband finished third in the competition but rose to become the most prominent UK boyband of the 21st century.