Telly Mix

According to The Mirror, audience members, production staff, judges Alesha Dixon and David Walliams and even hosts Ant and Dec were left fuming by the 52-year-old’s delay in arriving at the city’s Millenium Centre.

The normally chipper Geordie duo expressed their feelings on Twitter, writing: “Simon Cowell is in the building (apparently) only two hours late. Boring.”

And while he may have eventually arrived clean as a whistle, Cowell’s excuse certainly didn’t wash, as he said he’d been relaxing in the tub watching cartoons!

A show insider said: “Simon is known for not being that punctual, but he went too far this time. He kept all of production, the judges and the audience waiting for hours. He may have been working late, but the fact that he still found time for a bath before turning up late was too much.

“If he does it again in London we really will start without him because it costs money keeping the cameras rolling and all of production waiting around.”

The audition tour arrives in the UK capital next week.