Ant and Dec almost quit Britain's Got Talent
Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have revealed they almost exited Britain's Got Talent after almost 20 years because they "weren't having a very nice time".
Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly threatened to quit Britain's Got Talent because of Simon Cowell's lateness.
The much-loved Geordie duo, both 50, jetted out to Los Angeles and vented their frustration at the ITV talent competition's judge - who also owns the programme through his firm, Syco Entertainment.
Ant and Dec - who have fronted Britain's Got Talent since it started in 2007 - also moaned about how giving up hours of their time to host the programme resulted in very little screen time for them.
Appearing on the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast, Ant told hosts Ian Wright, 62, Roy Keane, 54, Gary Neville, 50, Jamie Carragher, 47, and 38 year old Jill Scott : "We've been annoyed at him a few times over the years."
Dec added: "We went to Los Angeles to tell him we were going to leave Britain's Got Talent because we weren't having a very nice time."
Ant continued: "He was always late. He was going through his period where he would just never turn up on time."
Dec noted: "And we were in the show less and less. And we were like, 'It's taken up a lot of our time. We're not really in the show.
"We might as well leave and put our energies elsewhere. So we went out for lunch with him in Los Angeles. And we said, 'Look, we're thinking about leaving because of this, this, this, this.'"
Simon, 66, then vowed to Ant and Dec - who front other big ITV titles, including I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! and Limitless Win - that he would change his ways and give the pair more airtime to keep them on Britain's Got Talent.
Dec continued: "He went, 'Oh, well, no, no, you can't leave. You know, this is not gonna happen. I'll turn up on time, and we'll make sure that you're featured more in the show, and that you have fun with it.'"
Ant and Dec were satisfied with the response from the music mogul.
Dec added: "We're like, 'Well, OK, if you can make that happen, that would be great.' And so we sat there having lunch, and he went, 'I can't believe you were thinking of leaving.'
"And he leaned over in the restaurant, in the middle of Los Angeles, and started tickling me. He went, 'You will never leave me!'"
A surprised Ant said: "But he took it on board."
He added: "And since then, we've had a lot more fun, and we really feel like it's much more our show rather than just his show. And he's relaxed a bit than what he was like.
"He was all about trying to sign the next best thing, and I think on Britain's Got Talent it's not about that, it's about seeing the best talent that's out there, and having fun with it, and making sure it's a good viewing experience, rather than making him another million quid."
And Ant thinks Simon has become "soft" since he welcomed his son, Eric Cowell, 11, into the world with his partner, socialite Lauren Silverman, in February 2014.
Amid threats to exit Britain's Got Talent, Ant and Dec said they have a good relationship with Simon.
Ant said: "He's a really charming bloke. He's funny, generous."
Dec chimed in: "Great sense of humour."
Ant noted: "We get on well with him. We've always kind of had a good relationship with him because we're quite honest with him, and I think he appreciates that."
