Britain’s Got Talent was left in chaos on Thursday when Simon Cowell fell ill during the first auditions in Birmingham.
Luckily, Stacey Solomon, 35, ‘stepped in at the last minute’ to replace the music mogul, 65, to prevent bosses from having to cancel the day.
The TV personality first found fame back in 2009 as a 19-year-old contestant on The X Factor so knows a thing or two about the process.
According to reports, Simon felt unwell in the last 24 hours. Judges often miss the odd audition because they don’t feel great – Simon, for example, has long suffered with migraines.
A TV insider told The Sun: ‘If she hadn’t have stepped in then organisers were facing doing the show with three judges OR potentially cancelling the Birmingham auditions and they really did not want to do that.
‘So many people were disappointed when yesterday’s auditions were canceled they didn’t want that to happen again, so Stacey was a great sport and stepped in.’
Britain’s Got Talent was left in chaos on Thursday when Simon Cowell fell ill during the first auditions in Birmingham (pictured in 2020)
Luckily, Stacey Solomon, 35, who first found fame back in 2009 as a 19-year-old contestant on The X Factor, ‘stepped in at the last minute’ to replace the music mogul, 65
They added: ‘BGT are so grateful to her for agreeing at such short notice and it adds an extra bit of excitement to proceedings too.’
The source added that Simon is ‘on the mend’ an hoping to be back on the judging panel in the coming days.
Daily Mail has contacted representatives for both Simon and Stacey for comment.
Previously it was stated that filming had been postponed and a BGT spokesperson told the Daily Mail: ‘Due to unforeseen circumstances today’s filming of Britain’s Got Talent has been postponed.’
A show insider had told the Sun: ‘Simon felt unwell in the last 24 hours. Judges often miss the odd audition because they don’t feel great – Simon, for example, has long suffered with migraines.
‘But it was decided, as this was the first audition of the series, it was best to postpone – so we could launch with everyone on the panel. He’s on the mend now – and hoping to be fighting fit for tomorrow.’
Simon previously suggested he is still suffering from the painful medical issue after first opening up about it last year.
He shared how he suffers from debilitating migraines when he worried fans after being forced to miss a couple of auditions during filming.
Simon wears a pair of red-tinted glasses to protect his eyes while shooting in the studio under bright lights for long periods of time.
A TV insider told The Sun : ‘If she hadn’t have stepped in then organisers were facing doing the show with three judges OR potentially cancelling the Birmingham auditions’
Simon wears a pair of red-tinted glasses to protect his eyes while shooting in the studio under bright lights for long periods of time due to his migraines
A picture which was shared by Simon at the time, showed the judges reuniting at the BGT auditions as filming for the new series began.
Simon was wearing a pair of the coloured lens glasses in the snap, suggesting he was still struggling with migraines a year on.
In February 2024, Simon took to his Instagram as he explained to some ‘concerned’ fans that he needs them for health reasons.
He finished off saying: ‘Next week we are filming BGT in Manchester – I look forward to seeing you then. PS. This is why I wear these glasses!’
Sharing a shot of him wearing the glasses while on the judging panel, he wrote: ‘I just found out according to the internet, I have a ‘mystery illness’.
‘For anyone concerned, I missed two auditions at the end of one day, two weeks ago, because I do get migraines after long days in the filming lights.’
