Simon Cowell feared he would “die” while taking part in a terrifying stunt on Britain’s Got Talent.
The music mogul, 65, lay on the floor as a blindfolded daredevil smashed watermelons with a mallet just inches from his head during one nail-biting audition.
Fellow judges Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon were seen screaming in horror as Cowell lay onstage while the man swung the mallet around him, in a trailer for the upcoming 18th series of the ITV talent show.
A member of the health and safety team rushed onstage to stop the act after noticing that the man’s hand was slipping due to the watermelon juice flying around.
A visibly shaken Cowell then sat up and exclaimed, “Are you f***ing crazy?” before returning to his seat.
Reflecting on the incident, the X Factor star said he “nearly got killed 12 times” and thanked crew for stepping in to “save his life”.
“It’s that feeling when you kind of think somebody doesn't want you on the show any more. It was that. It was the closest, genuinely, where I'm thinking, ‘They actually want to kill me,’” he told The Mirror.
“And I swear to God, that's how I felt because this guy got really nervous and he'd slipped and was shaking as he was smashing these watermelons.”
He went on: “The health and safety guys, normally quite annoying, actually stopped him. Thank God, they saved my life. When you’re up there you’re immersed in it and then you go home and think, ‘Tthat s*** is dark, I nearly got killed twelve times.’”
Fellow judge Holden admitted the stunt was “horrific” and it was “hard to watch” her friend come so close to being harmed.
BGT will return to viewers’ screens with the series 18 premiere on February 22.
Earlier this week, it was claimed that Cowell was heckled with savage insults during BGT auditions in Blackpool.
The TV judge allegedly faced boos and yells of “you old fart” when he criticised any of the performers while filming the talent show at Winter Gardens.
The interruptions and jibes from the “raucous” audience has caused a “headache” for producers as they struggle to edit out the taunts in the footage, sources claimed.
“Simon isn't vain in that way and found the heckling absolutely hilarious - even when they were calling him an old fart,” an insider told The Sun.
“He loves having BGT in Blackpool precisely because the crowds are so raucous and enthusiastic. And he knows that sometimes he might be on the receiving end of their passion.”
