Britain’s Got Talent’s Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have admitted that they were “scared” for Simon Cowell.

Ant and Dec, the dynamic duo from Britain’s Got Talent, have confessed that there was a terrifying moment when they genuinely feared for Simon Cowell’s life.

The much-loved ITV talent show has made its anticipated comeback with a fresh series, featuring the familiar faces of Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, and Bruno Tonioli on the judging panel.

This season also saw Youtube sensation KSI, born Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, stepping in as a guest judge on Saturday night, as performers from across the UK and further afield vie for the staggering £250,000 prize and the prestigious opportunity to perform at the Royal Variety Performance.

BGT judges

However, amidst the excitement, one act particularly alarmed Ant and Dec, leaving them concerned for Simon. With the show’s grand return, the presenting pair shared insights into what viewers can anticipate from the current series.

Ant revealed: “There’s a lot of danger this year. There was a moment this year where we were scared for Simon Cowell’s life. Genuinely, it was all a bit scary.”

In a heart-stopping segment broadcasted on BGT, Simon was left thinking a contestant had murderous intentions when an act went awry, resulting in a hammer whizzing past his head by mere inches.

Simon Cowell
BGT audition halted as health and safety rush on stage for Simon Cowell ‘they want to kill me’ (Image: ITV)

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Audiences will witness the nail-biting moment where Simon lies prone on the ground while the performer dangerously swings a mallet, smashing watermelons close to him.

Security personnel had to step in during an audition after a contestant nearly struck Cowell with a hammer, having slipped on watermelon juice, the TV judges disclosed. Cowell himself recounted feeling the breeze from the hammer’s swing and the splash of watermelon on his face.

Ant & Dec have regularly hosted BGT since it first aired in 2007
Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have admitted that they were “scared” for Simon (Image: ITV)

The BGT panel expressed their collective shock at the sight of Cowell participating in the risky performance. At a recent Q&A, Amanda Holden confessed her terror at witnessing the event, commenting: “It was so precarious because it was melons they were smashing so it was water everywhere. Any kind of safety there must have been was out the window. It was horrific.”

Her fellow judge Alesha Dixon also shared her concern for Cowell, saying: “We were genuinely worried. Please don’t do that again. Draw a line under it.”

Britain’s Got Talent continues on ITV and ITVX.