Ant and Dec 'almost quit' Britain's Got Talent because of Simon Cowell

Ant and Dec were reportedly on the brink of leaving Britain's Got Talent following a behind-the-scenes clash with Simon Cowell. Presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, who have been the faces of the show since its inception in 2007, nearly walked away from their roles.

The beloved Geordie duo were close to calling it quits due to their frustration with Cowell's habitual tardiness. Cowell, who has penned a section in Dec's memoir 'Once Upon A Tyne', confessed: "They used to have a real issue with me being late and it used to drive them nuts."

A report by The Sun suggests that the presenting pair were not only irked by Cowell's lack of punctuality but also disappointed with how their contributions were cut from the final episodes. "The audition days had been very long, which in itself we don't mind, but after filming interviews and interacting with every single act, as well as making jokes, giving reactions and everything else we always do, we found that when the show went out on TV, we hardly seemed to feature in it at all," Ant disclosed.

"We began to feel that we were wasting our time doing the auditions because all the footage of the work we were doing was ending up on the cutting-room floor."

The star expressed feeling 'sidelined' on the show and revealed a meeting with ITV bosses where they indicated they were 'strongly considering' leaving. Following their complaint, Cowell extended an invitation to the pair to join him in Los Angeles, where they dined at an upscale West Hollywood eatery.

"It's worth mentioning that Simon was only one minute late for that meeting, which for him is the equivalent of being three days early," Dec noted. "The three of us sat down and me and Ant went either side of him, so we could do the full pincer movement... We told him everything - that we weren't being used, that we could be doing other stuff, that maybe someone else should take over."

Fortunately, Cowell was keen to keep Ant and Dec on board and vowed to make changes. "To be fair to him, he was as good as his word, things did change," Dec reflected.