Simon Cowell will not appear in the finals of Britain’s Got Talent as he continues to recover after breaking his back when he fell from an electric bike.
The music mogul’s doctors have ordered him to stay put at his base in the US and not even appear via satellite link.
A pal said: “He just needs healing time. It was decided that having him judge the BGT finalists is not feasible or sensible.”
ITV bosses are now looking for a replacement judge for the Saturday night show, which will be recorded in two weeks.
Cowell, 60, whose production company makes BGT, had been keen to attend the UK finals. And last night it emerged that he still intends to swoop in and surprise contestants on America’s Got Talent in the next few weeks, before the series ends.
Cowell’s accident, witnessed by his shocked partner Lauren Silverman, her son Adam and their shared son Eric, six, happened as he tried out a powerful Swind EB-01 electric bike in the courtyard of his Malibu home this month.
The e-bike, described by its British maker as “brutally fast”, can do up to 60mph. Cowell underwent a six-hour operation and had a metal rod inserted into his broken back.
