Simon Cowell says he was ‘lucky to survive’ his back surgery after bike fall

‘Britain’s Got Talent’ judge fell from an electric bike in 2020

Simon Cowell has spoken out about the extent of his injuries after his bike accident.

The Britain’s Got Talent judge broke his back in August 2020 after he fell from an electric bike he was testing at his home in Malibu, California.

As a result, he had to undergo six hours of surgery, which included having a metal rod put in his back to stabilise it.

Ahead of the return of the variety TV competition, Cowell has opened up about the experience of recovering from the serious injury.

“I didn’t talk about it too much at the time,” he told OK! “I kept a lot back. It was a lot worse than people thought. I had a lot of long-term nerve damage as well.

“Just when I thought the bones had healed, I went with [my son] Eric to a funfair and tried to kick a football and it was agony.”

Cowell also suffered a setback after falling from his bike again a year later.

Judges David Walliams, Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon arrive for Britain’s Got Talent auditions (Jonathan Brady/PA) (PA Wire)

“It’s been a long haul but I’m almost healed and I’m being very careful about what I do. But at least now I can actually play football with Eric.”

Due to his injuries, Cowell was unable to appear on the 2020 season of Britain’s Got Talent and was temporarily replaced by former winner Ashley Banjo. The programme was then off the air last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Though he said he was “excited” to return to the panel this year, the music manager shared his belief that time away was beneficial to his recovery.

“If there was one good thing about lockdown, it was that it gave me the time to heal because I wasn’t working on a TV show,” he admitted. “I was able to walk a lot and strengthen my legs.

“I know I was lucky to survive my back surgery. I have a lot of people to thank for my recovery.”