Amanda Holden has revealed that Britain’s Got Talent filming had to be stopped as the audience hurled abuse at the judges.

The former actress, 54, serves on the panel of the ITV compeтιтion alongside Simo Cowell, Bruno Tonioli, Alesha Dixon and newcomer KSI.

But as production got underway for the eighteen series, cameras had to stop rolling as audience members heckled the former X Factor mogul and his co-stars.

She told The Sun: ‘Because Simon’s in charge they took it all out on him — they called him an old fart, they flicked the Vs at him, and then all the way through two or three acts there are these women in the camera sH๏τ giving him the finger.’

The former Cutting It star added that those same audience members would then approach Simon for a selfie, which he declined.  

She added: ‘Then, at the end of the session, they’re like, ‘Simon, can we have a selfie?’ and he’s like, ‘You’re joking, aren’t you?’ 

Amanda Holden has revealed that Britain’s Got Talent filming had to be stopped as the audience hurled abuse at the judges

The former actress, 54, serves on the panel of the ITV compeтιтion alongside Simo Cowell, Bruno Tonioli, Alesha Dixon and newcomer KSI

Amanda has served as a judge on the television talent show since its inception in 2007, having previously been best known as the ex-wife of Les Dennis.

As the auditions visit Blackpool for the first time, Amanda recalled visiting the northern seaside town when she was married to Les in the late 1990s.

She revealed that even though there is a hint of ‘faded glory’ in the area, there is a history of talent from there which means that audiences are ‘tough’ to please.

She said: ‘I’ve been around for a long time in this industry and they all honed their acts in the working men’s clubs in the north with big, tough audiences to please.’

Amanda even believes that Blackpool could be the ‘future’ when it comes to auditions, and told fans to ‘forget London’. 

Prior to landing her role as a judge, Amanda had appeared in West End productions of Thoroughly Modern Millie and starred on the ITV series Wild at Heart.

Away from the world of showbiz, the HeartFM host is married to record producer Chris Hughes and has daughters Lexi, 19, and Hollie, 13, with him. 

Even though her Britain’s Got Talent judging role has made her into a household name, Amanda admitted that she ‘cannot imagine’ still doing it in 18 years’ time.  

Instead, Amanda thinks it would be a good idea to ‘pᴀss the baton down’ to her children in years to comes.

The Amanda & Alan’s Spanish Job star wants to make the whole thing into a ‘family business’ and joked that by that time, ex-Strictly judge Bruno could be a form of AI.

The former Cutting It star added that those same audience members would then approach Simon for a selfie, which he declined

Even though her Britain’s Got Talent judging role has made her into a household name, Amanda admitted that she ‘cannot imagine’ still doing it in 18 years’ time

Away from the world of showbiz, the HeartFM host is married to record producer Chris Hughes and has daughters Lexi, 19, and Hollie, 13, with him 

Amanda thinks it would be a good idea to ‘pᴀss the baton down’ to Lexi (pictured) in years to come and have her feature as a BGT judge

Viewers can expect to see some ‘eye-popping’ auditions including dancers, gymnasts, musicians, circus style acts, plus a whole lot more.

The hopeful contestants will all battle it out for their place to perform in front of His Majesty at the Royal Variety Show. 

Also returning this year is the golden buzzer. Whilst the video doesn’t show viewers who they press for, it does show you Simon and Dec both give an act the opportunity to go straight through to the semi finals.

Britain’s Got Talent airs every Saturday night from 22nd February on ITV1.