Amanda Holden joked she has "washed her mouth out" after swearing during last night's Britain's Got Talent.
The terrified judge dropped an f-bomb as she took part in The Haunting magic act, which left her scared witless by ghosts on Monday night.
After joining the act's lead Elizabeth on stage, Holden screamed "f***" as the act intensified before clamping her hand over her mouth to stop any other bad language slipping out.
"I just really want to apologise. I said a really terrible word," Holden said after the act. "I know there are kids watching - I know my kids are watching - so [a] massive apology."
And the star managed to joke about her accidental expletive at the top of Tuesday night's second semi-final, after Ant McPartlin promised her nothing would be scaring her in the show.
Holden quipped: "You'll be relieved to know I have washed my mouth out with soap."
The swearing blunder prompted 38 complaints to media watchdog Ofcom, alongside 154 about the scary act itself.
Speaking on Britain's Got More Talent, Holden revealed that the performance gave her a "panic attack" after she realised her language.
“It’s all very boring [when the cameras stop],” she told Stephen Mulhern. “Simon [Cowell] goes out for a vape. I said ‘oh my God, oh my God don’t fire me for swearing’. I had a panic attack and went to the toilet lots of times."
Britain's Got Talent continues nightly at 7.30pm and 9.30pm on ITV.
