Simon Cowell has said he will never buy a Post Office stamp again after the victims of the sub-postmaster scandal performed on Britain’s Got Talent, prompting him to watch the ITV series and learn more about it.

Watching the choir, which has been formed by some of those affected by the Post Office scandal, Simon, 65, said that the battle is not over for them, and that he hopes their performance will move things on for those still waiting for compensation.

Speaking to media at the Britain’s Got Talent launch, he said: ‘I’d heard about this story, and then I watched Mr. Bates. I watched everything. 

‘I think the way these people were treated. I’m not saying this because it’s ITV but it was probably the most powerful piece of TV drama I’ve ever seen in my life, and they were treated in the most disgusting way. They were bullied.’

Simon continued: ‘When I actually saw them, I was quite starstruck, and it was a really, really powerful moment.

‘And I think it will remind people, I hope, because it’s not finished yet. What happened to them is still going on. So that was a moment I’ll never forget. And then they were really good. 

Simon Cowell says he will never buy a Post Office stamp again after the victims of the sub-postmaster scandal performed on Britain’s Got Talent , prompting him to watch the ITV series and learn more about it

Four part ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office aired last January and brought the scandal to the public’s attention (Toby Jones and Julie Hesmondhalgh pictured)

‘But let me say, I will never buy a stamp again.’

ITV’s drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office, brought the scandal to the public’s attention last year.

Against the expectations of the producers, who worried it would not stand up to more obviously bankable programmes, it became the biggest drama of the year.

It got 14 million viewers, provoked widespread outrage.

More than 900 sub postmasters were prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their accounts.

Just £499million of the budgeted £1.8billion has been paid to victims so far, while 14 per cent of those who had applied to the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS) before the original 2020 ᴅᴇᴀᴅline have still not settled their claims.

Meanwhile the 18th series of Britain’s Got Talent promises to impress viewers with impressive and thrilling performances.

Although perhaps too thrilling, Simon said he nearly died whilst filming an act where a man was smashing watermelons with a hammer. 

Watching the choir, which has been formed by some of those affected by the Post Office scandal, Simon, 65, said that the battle is not over for them, and that he hopes their performance will move things on for those still waiting for compensation

Simon said: ‘I’d heard about this story, and then I watched Mr. Bates. I’m not saying this because it’s ITV but it was probably the most powerful piece of TV drama I’ve ever seen in my life, and they were treated in the most disgusting way. They were bullied’

He added: ‘What happened to them is still going on. So that was a moment I’ll never forget. And then they were really good. ‘But let me say, I will never buy a stamp again’

The stage got very wet which meant the man kept slipping and missed his head by a millimetre.

The judge said: ‘It was the closest genuinely, where I thought they actually want to kill me. And I swear to God, that’s how I felt, because this guy got really nervous, and he’d slipped, and he was smashing these watermelons.

‘The producers were howling. They were like, carry on. But they actually had to come on a stop him.’

Amanda Holden chimed in: ‘It was honestly an inch from his head.’

‘I felt the wind from the hammer it was that close,’ Simon agreed.

Holden and Cowell will be joined by Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli, as well as guest judge YouTuber KSI on the new series.

Bosses are said to be hoping that he will bring in some of his 80million followers as viewers of the long-running reality TV show.

Simon will be joined by Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli, as well as guest judge YouTuber KSI on the new series

The latest series of BGT is also set for a huge format change as it will be the longest series ever.

The ITV show’s viewers can prepare for the 2025 series to show up to four months of episodes.

It will begin in February, rather than its normal start date of April, with episodes airing each Saturday night, replacing the traditional nightly episodes.

The live semi-finals – which usually air nightly over the course of one week – will now be shown weekly on Saturdays also.

As well as the format change, the programme will also be on ITV slightly earlier at 7pm to try and entice more audiences.