Simon Cowell revealed Cheryl was offered a role on Britain's Got Talent but turned down the offer at the last minute. The music mogul is head judge on the talent show alongside Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and Bruno Tonioli. Before Amanda was chosen for the hit programme, Simon offered singer Cheryl a spot on the judge's panel but she changed her mind a week before filming began. BGT, which returns on Saturday for its 18th series, also features hosting icons Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly as presenters of the show. In this series, social media star and musician KSI joins the panel as a guest judge. In a new interview, Simon praised Amanda - who has been on the panel since the first series.
“She is our Britain’s Got Talent queen and she deserves that crown," he said. Speaking of who he tried to book as a judge before, he added: "And you know what? She was an interesting booking because we’d offered the role to Cheryl Cole, as she was known in those days. “A week before filming, she calls me and goes, ‘I just can’t do it’, and wouldn’t give me a reason. I think she was freaked out. We literally had two judges and a week to book someone. I just knew it had to be Amanda because I’d met her and I really liked her, she was very funny and I just thought she’d fit the show perfectly.
“Fast forward 18 years and she’s still a huge success and we have become great friends. I do consider her one of my best friends.” Although Cheryl never took part in BGT, she became a judge on The X Factor UK in 2008, where she mentioned Alexandra Burke and Joe McElderry in their series. She resigned in 2011 before joining the US version of the show. However, she left during the audition stages. A few years later, she returned to the UK version for two series. Cherl appeared as a performer in BGT in 2014 and was a guest mentor on The X Factor in 2012 and 2017. She became a dance captain for The Greatest Dancer for a series.
Meanwhile, KSI recently released a statement after being revealed as a guest judge on BGT. Speaking of his excitement ahead of the ITV show's launch in February, he said: "I'm so excited to be a guest judge for BGT," KSI said in a statement. "When I got the call up, I couldn’t believe it. I remember watching old BGT episodes and going from being amazed to laughing my [expletive] off. I'm buzzing to see all the fresh new talent, and I'll be sure to leave a mark.".
