Before the pandemic, Simon Cowell was the epitome of a workaholic, known for working into the early hours.
But as he prepares for the live semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent, the 62-year-old is a changed man, looking fitter and more refreshed.
Sitting on a sofa in his London home, Simon insists life is no longer all about work and says he now puts son Eric and fiancee Lauren first.
Though he would later say he’d happily take on an X Factor reboot, he tells me: “I do think I have got the work/life balance right, particularly with Eric because he’s eight now.
“The only good thing about the coronavirus was that during the lockdown we spent a lot of time together – and I love his company.
“Once we came out of lockdown, I had to make a decision, which was do I go back to what I was doing before? Or do I do a little bit less and I’m able to spend more time with him? That’s what I decided to do.
“I only do things which I want to do. Like Got Talent as an example, I make notes on every episode before it goes out, sometimes two times, three times, and these are 90-minute or two-hour shows. That’s a whole day noting one episode.
“You’d be amazed how much time you’ve really got to put in and you’ve got to be healthy and you’ve got to be fit. You don’t want to be tired.
“It’s finding that balance. It’s absolutely key now.” To create that balance, Simon wound down the majority of his Syco brands.
His main work now is two shows –America’s Got Talent and BGT.
This year’s BGT, on ITV, has once again been a big hit, with fans and wannabe stars lapping it up after last year’s hiatus.
Simon says: “I was a little bit concerned that everybody was going to come in feeling very down after what they’d gone through. Actually, it was the opposite. It was like, ‘Thank God it’s over. And now I’ve got an opportunity to be in front of an audience and I can do my act’.”
Of giving BGT a year off due to Covid, he says: “It was just too risky trying to do the auditions when that second variant came along. We had to make the decision at the last minute.
“Then when we got together again on that first day, it did feel different. I think it reminded all of us why we like doing the show and what it stands for and everything else.
“You could probably tell when you watch the auditions – the judges, Ant and Dec and the audience, it was like they were in a party the whole time.”
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Looking ahead to the live shows, which will again feature singers, dancers, wacky comedians and animal acts, Simon says their unpredictability is the part of the series he enjoys most.
“You don’t know what’s going to happen and that gives the shows more drama. It’s exciting.”
Though he is cutting back on work, having known him for two decades, I think he was using our chat as a plea to ITV bosses to revive a certain talent show that last aired in 2018.
He says: “I’m not going to lie, I would love to do The X Factor again. I do miss it. I also miss it because it did create a lot of stars. Sometimes when you’ve got something good, you can always refresh it. That is probably where my head is at right now.”
- BGT continues tonight on ITV at 8pm. The live semi-finals begin on Monday at 8pm and run all week. You can catch missed shows on ITV Hub.
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