Simon Cowell ‘goes missing’ from Britain’s Got Talent as Ant and Dec make heartbreaking announcement

SIMON Cowell went ‘missing' from a portion of tonight's Britain's Got Talent.

The head judge and media mogul was nowhere to be seen for some of the Blackpool auditions that were featured as part of tonight's programme.

Despite appearing for the first half of the show, he was soon replaced by guest judge, YouTuber and boxer, KSI.

It forced show hosts Ant and Dec to address the crowd at Blackpool's Winter Gardens where they were forced to make an announcement about Simon and confirm that he would not be returning to the panel that day.

The TV double act said: “We have a spare chair. Unfortunately Simon can”t be with us today.

“So we have a very special guest judge KSI.”

The show then continued as normal but fans at home were quick to realise the heartbreaking reason as to why Simon was absent from the show.

Back in October, filming for the programme was suspended following the tragic news of the death of the singer, Liam Payne.

Liam rose to fame on another of Simon's programmes, The X Factor.

He passed away aged just 31 after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

When auditions for BGT recommenced, Simon missed an extra day after being deeply affected by Liam's passing.

Picking up on this tragic reason as the episode aired tonight, one fan said online: “Ahhh Simon was off when Liam Payne died.”

As someone else echoed: “I think this was the episode where Simon was off due to Liam Payne’s death.”

At the time, a BGT spokesperson confirmed that auditions would be on hold amid the terrible circumstances.

They said last year:“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.”

Guest judge KSI has been used regularly this series with the star filling in for Bruno Tonioli during a series of audition sets when the Italian dancer was absent due to filming commitments in the US.

BGT's Best Golden Buzzer Moments

BGT have handed out many Golden Buzzer's over the years, can you remember some of the most famous

• Loren Allred – Loren Allred, 32, from Brooklyn, New York jetted to London to audition after recording the vocals for The Greatest Showman. The stunning singer got a standing ovation and a Golden Buzzer from the judges as she delivered a stirring rendition of Never Enough from the popularfilm. Loren came out on stage and revealed to the judges they would have heard her voice many times before that moment. “I was hired to record the vocals for The Greatest Showman as a guide for the actors to know how to sing the songs,” she explained. Loren then revealed actress Rebecca Ferguson was so stunned by her singing that she decided to let her vocals be heard in the movie. “So she lip-synced,” Loren said.
• Chicken Shed Theatre Company – Comprised of individuals aged between 5 and 37, the group was set up to welcome anyone irrespective of background to get up on stage and perform and fulfil their dream. Chicken Shed prides itself on accepting anyone and does not hold auditions to make the group a safe and inclusive space. The group wowed as they performed Wonder by Naughty Boy featuring Emeli Sande. It meant that Alesha wasted no time as she decided to hit her golden buzzer for the young performers. She told them it was her “honour” to reward their inclusiveness with her golden buzzer.
• The Dancing Granny – Granny Paddy Jones and her professional partner Niko Espinosa first hit headlines when they won the Spanish talent show Tú sí que vales in 2009, before going on to appear on Britain’s Got Talent in 2014 where they came ninth. Amanda Holden was so impressed with Paddy that she gave her the Golden Buzzer, which sent them straight through to the semi-finals. But things took a worrying turn when Paddy cracked a rib while rehearsing a new move and her place on the show was under doubt. She was given the all-clear to perform in the end but didn’t quite live up to expectations.
• Bars and Melody – They will forever be remembered for their anti-bullying song on the talent show. Bars and Melody were first seen on the 2014 series of Britain's Got Talent, getting shuttled into the semi-finals when Simon Cowell pressed his Golden Buzzer. They made it to the final thanks to a performance of I'll Be Missing You but lost out on the crown to Collabro. These days Charlie Lenehan – known as Melody – is covered in tattoos, with inkings on his neck, arms and chest. But he is as close as ever to co-star Leondre Devries – who is Bars – with the pair seen enjoying themselves in exotic locations all over the world.