Britain’s Got Talent winner Richard Jones has revealed what Simon Cowell is REALLY like behind the scenes and who he thinks should replace him if he were to ever leave the ITV show.
If BGT fans cast their minds back to the 10th series of the talent competition, they will remember that the 34-year-old beat jazz singer Wayne Woodward, 29, to the top spot in 2016.
Despite being on the programme nearly a decade ago, there is one thing that people are desperate to know the answer to.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Richard told us: ‘The most common question I ever get he asked is what Simon like in real life?
‘And actually, you know what… he’s very, very smart, very clever, but he’s also just one of the nicest people.
‘If you sit down and have a chat with him, he’s just such a kind man.
‘He really cares about how the acts do after the show, which is really nice to see.
‘Whenever I bump into him at events, he’ll always come over and check in to see how I’m getting on.
‘He doesn’t have to do that, but he does because he’s a good man.’
At the time Richard had to perform to the panel which consisted of Simon, 65, David Walliams, 53, Alesha Dixon, 46, and Amanda Holden, 54.
But things have changed a little since then as it now consists of Simon, Amanda, Alesha, and the newest edition, KSI, 31.
BGT creator Simon has been part of it all since the very beginning, but there have been a couple of times where others have had to step-in for the music mogul.
When asked if Simon were to ever step away from his role as head judge, the former soldier told us who he thinks could be a good replacement.
Richard said: ‘If he ever did, it would be so tough, and honestly, I think the only person who had to fill those shoes is me.
‘So spread the word… I’ll happily take over if I have to.
‘But I think Simon’s great, so I don’t think he should ever leave. I think Simon is just so iconic to the show.
‘I feel like it would be a huge mistake for him to step away, because he is, yeah, everyone who goes on the show to audition, really the people that they know, the person that they know.
‘They need to and want to impress the most is Simon Cowell. If you can impress Simon Cowell, you’ve done a good job.
‘And I think, I think without him in it wouldn’t be the same.’
Before taking part in the talent show, Richard was in the army as a solider, but fell in love with magic after trying to make his fellow soldiers smile while working away from home.
He explained: ‘I started spending a lot of time abroad with the army, when you’re away for a long period of time, you miss home and you miss your family, and also you’re kind of in a place.
‘Sometimes you in a place that’s maybe not very nice, and you’re going through tough times.
‘But something I realised early on in my Army career is that by bringing out a pack of cards and doing some tricks for the other troops around me, it really brighten up peoples’ days.
‘So really, the reason I started doing magic was just to try and boost morale in some of those trips away with the army.
‘And eventually, way before BGT, the army started to realise that that I was passionate about magic, and they realized it was boosting morale in quite a positive way.
‘And they started sending me around around the UK, but also around around the world, specifically as a soldier, but specifically to entertain as a magician, just to make people smile in some of the difficult places that we were operating in.
‘So I was, yeah, I was utilized as the army magician, literally for my career, which is bizarre, but yeah, it’s very lucky.’
After winning the show, he stayed in the army for another six years, while doing his magic shows in the evenings and weekends.
Then in 2022 he decided to go full time as a magician, and now does tours around the world, and other things such as corporate events, motivational speaking and hosting.
And most recently he just returned home from performing at sea on Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines.
Richard has been a big part of the Britain’s Got Talent family over the past nine years, and has returned in lots of iterations ever since.
Some include his return act in 2017, Britain’s Got Talent: Champions and guest appearances on other years.
Richard said: ‘I very much, very much feel part of the Britain’s Got Talent family, which is nice.
‘They still keep me involved quite a lot and and honestly, most of my time now is just spent on working out and creating new magic.
‘So every year I’ll do a new a new tour show, which I’ll take around the country, in a way, I kind of see it as like my way of thanking the nice people who have helped me get to where I am.
‘I travel around doing shows and you get the most lovely families coming.
‘I always make a point I’ll be at the exit of every show – kind of stand by and a thank you for coming to everyone.
‘And that’s usually where I meet the kindest people who say they voted for me during the shows, and yeah, it’s really nice to meet real people who, if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here.
‘So yeah, so that’s what I spend all my time doing now, trying to create more and more impossible things.
‘And no doubt, Britain’s Got Talent will, I would imagine, I hope, would probably get me involved next year, because it’s the 20th anniversary, and obviously I won the 10th anniversary… so I assume next year will be a huge one.’
He added: ‘I’ve already got a few ideas, some really fun ideas that I think be really powerful, that I’ve been thinking about maybe mentioning to BGT over the last couple of years, that maybe they should get me on to do these specific things.
‘But I’ve kind of been saving them because I think next year, it’s going to be the biggest year ever.’
Richard is a leading corporate entertainer with the Champions Music and Entertainment Agency.
