Simon Cowell has refused to guarantee if David Walliams will be keeping his job on the Britain’s Got Talent judging panel.
The music mogul, 63, appears to have opted out of publicly backing his longtime fellow judge after David found himself thrown into a scandal over alleged abusive comments.
A leaked transcript from the ITV show saw that David made crude references about one woman and called a pensioner a 'c***' during filming for Britain's Got Talent back in 2020.
Following the scandal, Simon has failed to confirm if David will be returning for the next series of the hit talent show.
"Ask me in a few weeks," he responded when quizzed on the matter.
Simon went on to insinuate that the current judging panel - which includes David, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon - is not 'vital' for the show's success.
"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," Simon told Daily Star.
David, 51 - who has been a judge on BGT since 2012 - has apologised for making 'disrespectful comments'.
They were made during breaks from filming for the show in 2020.
The apology came following reports of a leaked transcript that featured alleged remarks by the comedian.
Such comments included someone being referred to as a "c***".
It has attracted much attention this month and there have even been calls from the public for Walliams to leave the talent show, with one person tweeting: "He should be sacked!"
In a grovelling statement, David penned: "I would like to apologise to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks in filming for [BGT] in 2020."
"These were private conversations and - like most conversations with friends - were never intended to be shared." Walliams added: "Nevertheless, I am sorry."
There are no suggestion that his fellow judges were aware of the remarks. Nor is there a suggestion that hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly were either.
A spokesperson for Thames TV - the production company behind BGT - told The Mirror in a statement earlier this month that those involved had been spoken to.
They described the language used in the remarks as 'inappropriate'.
"Although relating to a private conversation almost three years ago, the language used was inappropriate. Even though it was private, those involved have been spoken to and reminded of their responsibilities and the show's expectations as to future professional conduct," the spokesperson stated.
The Mirror has approached Simon and David's representatives for further comment on this story.
