Britain’s Got Talent’s Simon Cowell’s health woes after accident that nearly killed him
Simon Cowell returns to our screens for the 19th series of Britain’s Got Talent tonight following a number of health concerns including a bike crash, which nearly killed him
Britain’s Got Talent star, Simon Cowell, has suffered a number of health issues over the years(Image: Instagram)
Britain’s Got Talent star, Simon Cowell, has suffered a number of health issues over the years. The media mogul, 66, who returns to ITV tonight for the 19th series of the smash-hit talent show, is one of the most famous faces on telly.
However, off-screen, the dad-of-one has battled a number of health woes, including a bike crash, which nearly killed him and left him doubting if he would ever walk again. Then last year, the star was forced to miss some of BGT’s auditions after falling ill when filming started in Birmingham, and he needed Stacey Solomon to step in for him.
So, as we get ready to watch the best of Britain hope to impress the notorious hard to please judge tonight, here’s a look at Simon’s health, starting with the reason he had to sit out some of the prime time show’s auditions – two years in a row…
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Migraines
Simon Cowell is said to suffer from crippling migraines, which caused him to have to sit out some of the BGT shows last year(Image: Getty Images)
Simon is said to suffer from crippling migraines, which caused him to have to sit out some of the BGT shows last year. A source told The Sun after his swift exit from the Birmingham Arena that he had a terrible headache and migraine, which had been caused by an accidental bump on the head.
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In 2024, he also confirmed he had to miss filming for the ITV show due to migraines and, in a bid to keep the agonising headaches at bay, was spotted wearing tinted red glasses.
Speaking about the condition, Simon shared: “I just found out, according to the internet, I have a ‘mystery illness’. For anyone concerned, I missed two auditions at the end of one day, two weeks ago, because I do get migraines after long days in the filming lights.
However, he’s since recovered and is back in the hot seat tonight.
Bike crash that nearly killed him
Simon revealed his surgeon feared he would never walk again after he broke his back in three places following a crash. The SyCo star suffered a near-death experience and broke his back when he was thrown off his electric bike while testing it out at his home in Malibu, California, in 2022.
Afterwards, he was treated for a concussion and a broken arm as well as a broken back. The fall resulted in Simon having a metal rod put into his spine, amid multiple procedures and operations. In a chat with Elizabeth Day on the How To Fail podcast, he opened up about the impact of the crash.
Simon revealed his surgeon feared he would never walk again after he broke his back in three places following a crash(Image: SplashNews.com)
The media mogul, 66, was forced to miss the first two days of filming the new series of BGT(Image: ITV)
He admitted he ‘could have died’ and his surgeon was concerned about whether they could ‘fix’ his back. Simon revealed: “He showed me the X-ray and he said ‘Look, I’m not going to lie, Simon, I don’t know if I can fix this, which means you probably won’t walk and secondly, the operation could take 11 hours’.
“They said the obvious – it could go wrong – and all I could think about was my family and everything. In that moment you kind of realise the most important thing is your health and don’t do stupid things.”
Anxiety
Anxiety is another health battle that Simon has been open about dealing with, telling the Mirror he turned to therapy for help after some encouragement from friends.
Recognising that after lockdown, more people were talking about mental health, he told us he started to compartmentalise the issues he felt he had been holding back, especially on his laser focus on TV ratings for his shows.
Simon told us “He asked me, ‘Do you consider your best work to be the highest-rated thing you’ve ever done?’ And I said, ‘No.’ And he said, ‘So why are you judging yourself on that?’”
* Britain’s Got Talent returns to screens tonight on ITV1 and ITVX at 7pm.
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