
Simon Cowell was sensationally booed by the audience on Britain's Got Talent last night over his sacking of Cheryl Cole. Open shirted Cowell, 51, seen smoking at BGT's London studios, fears Chezza, 27, will never speak to him again after the US X Factor snub. He confided in private: "She's had it with me."
The first of a week of BGT finals was the first time the mogul had been seen in public since he cruelly dashed Cheryl's dream of cracking America. A source in the audience said: "The gossip before the show was all about Cheryl and Simon. People were reading The Sun and saying, 'Can you believe what he's done to poor Cheryl?'. "As soon as the warm-up guy said, 'Simon is in the building,' everyone suddenly started booing. People were saying, 'That's for Cheryl'."
Cowell suffered further embarrassment when host Dec Donnelly, half of Ant and Dec, appeared to stick up for fellow Geordie Cheryl by asking: "Can you understand my accent?" She is thought to have baffled US TV executives with her broad North East dialect. Cowell has now stopped trying to contact Cheryl after she failed to respond to a blizzard of texts and calls. And when ITV officially announced the new UK X Factor line-up yesterday, there was NO mention of departed judges Cheryl and Dannii Minogue.
A pal of Cowell said: "He was saying, 'She's had it with me. I've hurt her and she won't forgive me for this'. He is really worried that she won't speak to him ever again." Cheryl blanked her former mentor all weekend as he and ITV bosses frantically tried to sign her up for the UK version of the show before auditions begin tonight.
Cowell has now signed other judges amid concerns this year's panel could be "underwhelming" for viewers, with damaging effects on ratings. Louis Walsh, 58, is joined by Take That's Gary Barlow, 40, ex-Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland, 30, and N-Dubz star Tulisa Contostavlos, 22.
A source said: "Simon feels guilty as hell about what has happened to Cheryl. He has admitted it was a cock-up but she won't hear him out. They used to be so close. She'd text him round the clock for advice. Now she can't bring herself to speak to him. He feels like he's lost a lover." Other sources said BGT staff were banned from asking multi-millionaire Cowell about X Factor to avoid upsetting him. One said: "Simon was putting on a brave face last night, smiling as if everything was fine. But the reality is, he's had the worst week of his professional and personal life."
The first of a week of BGT finals was the first time the mogul had been seen in public since he cruelly dashed Cheryl's dream of cracking America. A source in the audience said: "The gossip before the show was all about Cheryl and Simon. People were reading The Sun and saying, 'Can you believe what he's done to poor Cheryl?'. "As soon as the warm-up guy said, 'Simon is in the building,' everyone suddenly started booing. People were saying, 'That's for Cheryl'."
Cowell suffered further embarrassment when host Dec Donnelly, half of Ant and Dec, appeared to stick up for fellow Geordie Cheryl by asking: "Can you understand my accent?" She is thought to have baffled US TV executives with her broad North East dialect. Cowell has now stopped trying to contact Cheryl after she failed to respond to a blizzard of texts and calls. And when ITV officially announced the new UK X Factor line-up yesterday, there was NO mention of departed judges Cheryl and Dannii Minogue.
A pal of Cowell said: "He was saying, 'She's had it with me. I've hurt her and she won't forgive me for this'. He is really worried that she won't speak to him ever again." Cheryl blanked her former mentor all weekend as he and ITV bosses frantically tried to sign her up for the UK version of the show before auditions begin tonight.
Cowell has now signed other judges amid concerns this year's panel could be "underwhelming" for viewers, with damaging effects on ratings. Louis Walsh, 58, is joined by Take That's Gary Barlow, 40, ex-Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland, 30, and N-Dubz star Tulisa Contostavlos, 22.
A source said: "Simon feels guilty as hell about what has happened to Cheryl. He has admitted it was a cock-up but she won't hear him out. They used to be so close. She'd text him round the clock for advice. Now she can't bring herself to speak to him. He feels like he's lost a lover." Other sources said BGT staff were banned from asking multi-millionaire Cowell about X Factor to avoid upsetting him. One said: "Simon was putting on a brave face last night, smiling as if everything was fine. But the reality is, he's had the worst week of his professional and personal life."