Simon Cowell has avoided answering whether David Walliams will be back on BGT
(Picture: PA)Simon Cowell refuses to confirm David Walliams’ return to Britain’s Got Talent judging panel amid the comedian being embroiled in scandal.
Walliams is facing a backlash for making derogatory remarks about the show’s contestants that have come to light in a leaked transcript.
One of these comments include him calling an elderly performer a “c***” three times during filming in 2020 after the man walked off stage.
When Cowell was asked by the Daily Star about Walliams’ behaviour, he said: “Can we not go there? If you don’t mind.”
And when asked if the best-selling children’s author and Little Britain TV comedy star will be back on Britain’s Got Talent in 2023, he said a decision is yet to be made.
He added: “Ask me in a few weeks.”
Walliams’ slurs were picked up by a mic used to record chats between him and fellow judges Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon at the London Palladium in January 2020.
Apart from the profane remark about the pensioner, he said of a woman hopeful: "She’s like the slightly boring girl you meet in the pub that thinks you want to f*** them, but you don’t."
Walliams, who joined BGT in 2012, said in a statement: "I would like to apologise to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks in filming for Britain’s Got Talent in 2020.
"These were private conversations and, like most conversations with friends, were never intended to be shared.
"Nevertheless, I am sorry.”
Cowell has also stated the show’s judges aren’t the main key to BGT’s success.
Chatting at the Variety Club Showbusiness Awards, he said: “For me the most important thing is the talent. It’s always about that.
"If you don’t have great talent, you don’t have a show. That’s all I care about.”
Show bosses have confirmed that Walliams has been reprimanded for his derogatory comments.
