Simon Cowell caused a stir during the fourth semi-final of Britain's Got Talent on Thursday night when he abruptly left the stage while assisting ventriloquist Jimmy Tamley. The head judge was on stage with David Walliams, both wearing masks for the performance. When asked to dance, Cowell removed his mask and walked off, prompting boos from the audience.
Hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly made light of the situation. Ant joked to Jimmy: “Where shall we start? Jimmy, maybe with you? It was less of the case of Can-can, more can’t-can’t, more won’t-won’t.” Jimmy retorted: “That’s the first time in my career the dummy has actually walked off stage by himself.” Dec responded: “That’s no way to talk about Simon.” Jimmy added: “No it is! He made a dummy of himself, not me!”
Simon later returned and joked about the incident, saying: “When the credits roll up later on, you’re going to see the names of the people who produced this show. When you read about them being murdered in two days time, I’m going to admit I’m the person and you know who you are.” David Walliams told Jimmy: “The funny thing is, this is all Simon Cowell is ever going to be remembered for and I’m very happy!”
Despite the memorable performance, Jimmy failed to make it to the final. Mark McMullan and magician Ben Hart advanced, joining the six other confirmed finalists. The fifth and final semi-final airs Friday night.
