Simon Cowell's BGT return may be further away than fans had hoped.
The 60-year-old will be forced to miss the show's upcoming Christmas special, according to reports, as he mends up following his nasty bike accident.
Back in August, Simon was rushed to hospital after breaking his back in three places.
He'd been injured while out on his electric bike in Malibu, California, and though he's on the road to recovery it now seems as though he may not be well enough to make his UK telly return.
Diversity star and BGT alum Ashley Banjo stepped up to fill Simon's spot on the judging panel alongside Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and David Walliams.
A source told The Sun : "Simon hoped he'd be well enough to fly from Los Angeles to the UK for the special show but he’s had to pull out."
The insider added that coronavirus has made considerations even more complicated.
"Plus the new lockdown measures," they continued, "and him having to fly two weeks before the show so he could quarantine in advance — made it even more difficult for him to make the journey."
Ashley, they assured, is willing to step up again and fill in for Simon.
Mirror Online has reached out to reps for Simon and ITV for comment.
The pre-recorded semi-finals kicked off last month, with social distancing measures implemented on set and the audience now tuning in on video calls from home.
Ofcom was flooded with more than 24,000 complaints after Ashley and his Diversity mates performed a hard-hitting Black Lives Matter-themed dance.
Ofcom told that they would not be investigating the show, and ITV stood firm by the performance.
Diversity, too, have remained defiant, Ashley telling that he would dance the same routine "100 times over" as he thanked fans for their support.
"Creativity is always a leap of faith," he wrote on Instagram.
"All I did what was what felt right and I'd do it 100 times over...Sending love to everyone that stood by us."
Ofcom ruled: "We carefully considered a large number of complaints about this artistic routine, an area where freedom of expression is particularly important.
"Diversity's performance referred to challenging and potentially controversial subjects, and in our view, its central message was a call for social cohesion and unity.
"Any depictions of violence by the performers were highly stylised and symbolic of recent global events, and there was no explicit reference to any particular political organisation – but rather a message that the lives of black people matter.
"We will not be taking this case on to formal investigation."
