Simon Cowell has explained that his recent absence from the Britain’s Got Talent auditions was due to an unfortunate tumble down a staircase.

The 66-year-old television judge missed the initial two days of filming in Birmingham after sustaining injuries in the fall.

When Cowell returned for the third day of shooting, he was seen with a bruise on his forehead, though no immediate explanation was provided at the time. Stacey Solomon had stepped in to temporarily fill his spot on the panel.

During auditions in Blackpool, Cowell finally disclosed the reason behind his absence. This revelation came as an ambulance worker choir took to the stage, prompting a timely confession.

As reported by The Sun, Amanda Holden joked that the ambulance crew might be present to assist if anything happened to Cowell again.

Cowell responded, “I fell down some steps and bumped my head, but I’m fine now.”

Simon Cowell has revealed his absence from the Britain’s Got Talent auditions was because he fell down a flight of stairs

The TV judge, 66, was unable to attend the first two days of filming in Birmingham after he injured himself in the fall (L-R Simon, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli) 

‘I wish you had been around a couple of weeks ago when I actually bashed my head. Seriously – no one sang for me then!’  

A source added: ‘Simon bumped his head when he stumbled on some steps. It’s the sort of thing that can happen to anyone. And, thankfully, he’s absolutely fine now.’

Daily Mail has contacted representatives of Simon Cowell for comment. 

Simon previously suffered a terrifying fall in 2017 that forced him to pull out of The X Factor live shows.

The star explained he had fainted due to ‘low blood pressure’, and vowed to start ‘taking good care of himself’ from now on, for the sake of his son Eric, who was three at the time.

Simon admitted the horrific fall had reminded him he was not ‘invincible’, and that he has a ‘responsibility’ to take control of his health as a father. 

The media mogul also broke his back in 2020 after a near-fatal e-bike crash. He was thrown off the bike when he was testing the vehicle at his home in Malibu, California.

He underwent extensive surgery after the shock accident including having a metal rod put in his back to stabilise it and he has overhauled his lifestyle in the years since.

He reappeared on the third day of filming, after Stacey Solomon filled in on the panel, and sported a bruise on his forehead

Simon (pictured in April) revealed his surgeon feared he would never walk again following his near-fatal e-bike crash in 2020

Simon spoke more about the devastating impact of the crash earlier this year, revealing his surgeon didn’t know if he’d be able to ‘fix’ his back due to the severity of the injury.

Speaking to Elizabeth Day on the How To Fail podcast, Simon revealed he ‘could have died’ in the accident and his surgeon warned him he might never walk again.

He shared: ‘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.’

The former X Factor judge said the horror accident was a major ‘wake-up call’ about his ‘crazy’ lifestyle and taught him to stop taking risks in life.

‘It was a wake-up moment, which is I’m crazy,’ he explained. 

‘It kind of happened for a reason because I thought I was fit but then when I had to do all the physio after, just walking, they make you walk very quickly, I pretty much couldn’t move and then I started to walk a lot and thought ”oh God, I was in a really bad place”.’

Though his surgeon initially feared he would be paralysed from the accident, Simon has made a full recovery and says he is now fitter than he was before the crash.

He has since shed three stone and has gradually ditched smoking, which saw him have 80 cigarettes a day at the height of his habit.