Simon Cowell STORMS off Britain’s Got Talent stage and refuses to take part

31 May 2019, 08:23

The furious judge was not impressed by ventriloquist Jimmy Tamley’s attempt to get him dancing during last night’s live semi-final.

Simon Cowell stormed off stage during Britain’s Got Talent's live-semi final last night when ventriloquist Jimmy Tamley tried to force him to dance.

The enraged judge, who had been forced to wear a creepy dummy mask, dramatically quit the performance half way through and refused to do the can-can in one of the show’s most awkward moments of all time.

Leaving fellow judge and actor David Walliams alone with contestant Jimmy to entertain the crowd, the duo tried to smooth over the tense atmosphere which made for some seriously uncomfortable viewing.

Simon left speechless by Jimmy Tamley's ventriloquist act | Semi-Finals | BGT 2019

TV fans took to Twitter to share their disbelief and wade in on the drama.

One wrote: “Watching #BGT through my hands as its so awkward and awful right now… This act needs to get off ASAP!!"

“Actually can’t believe Simon stormed off the stage #BGT,” said another.

A third added: "Simon Cowell looked very uncomfortable and anxious he clearly didnt want to be on that stage #BGT."

But things became even more painful when a shellshocked Jimmy realised he couldn’t continue without him, so the humiliated judge was coaxed into returning to the stage.

The routine was picked back up by the trio and but ended fairly quickly when Simon and David were forced into a huge shipping crate that was labelled ‘David’s bedroom’.

After the skit, the fuming music mogul returned to his judging seat and joked that he’d murder the production team who had put him forward for the act.

"Why couldn't you have just used Ant and Dec?,” said Alesha Dixon, who felt bad for her embarrassed co-star.

A less sympathetic Amanda Holden explained: ”It was Simon's worst nightmare but it was great for the rest of us!”

And when the show’s presenters Ant and Dec asked David what he thought of the saga, he said: "This will be all that Simon Cowell is remembered for."

An insider later told The Sun Online that Simon had been “laughing” about the incident and “saw the funny side”.

"Simon is absolutely fine. He’s been laughing about it during the ad break," the source said.

"There’s been lots of laughter in the dressing room, with a few production members jokingly acting with their tails between their legs! But Simon saw the funny side."

"It turns out the reason Simon left the stage was due to an old skiing injury.

"Jimmy grabbed hold of Simon’s knee but, understandably, won’t have realised about Simon’s old injury when he wanted him to do the can-can.

"So Simon had to take the lead to stop any embarrassment! Backstage, everyone has been giggling - and Simon thinks it was a great TV moment!”

Britain's Got Talent's semi-finals continue on tonight at 7.30pm and 9.30pm on ITV. The final airs on Sunday June 2rd at 7.30pm, also on ITV.