Simon Cowell has hit back at claims that singer Max Fox's Britain's Got Talent audition was 'set up'. The music mogul appeared on ITV's This Morning on Friday (25 April) with fellow BGT judge Bruno Tonioli to chat about the upcoming semi-finals with hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary.

In a recent BGT episode, viewers were stunned as Max emerged from the audience to request a chance to perform, catching Simon by surprise.

Simon gave him the nod, and Max's performance of Frank Sinatra's My Way wowed everyone, earning him Amanda Holden's golden buzzer.

Despite the buzz on social media, some fans doubted the moment's authenticity, suggesting producers might have staged it, reports the Mirror.

But Simon quashed those suspicions on This Morning, insisting the impromptu audition genuinely took him aback.

"On my life, I swear to god that was not a set up," he declared. "I honestly thought, 'Okay, someone has put him there' and I said to the producers, 'Come on, it's a set up, right?'"

He added: "I just thought we'd never show it, but he wants to sing in front of me and I thought, 'Why not, just let him do it'... I was laughing so much when the golden buzzer happened, I said, 'No one is going to believe this, no one is going to believe it. They are going to think it was set up.'"

Simon was eager to challenge the doubters, declaring: "I'll take a lie detector test on live TV."

Bruno said enthusiastically, "That's what gives it so much energy because we never know what's going to happen!"

Earlier in the week, Max made an appearance on This Morning to talk about his unexpected audition that was broadcast on ITV1 on Saturday, 19 April.

While chatting with hosts Josie Gibson and Andi Peters, Max also verified that his audition was spontaneous and not orchestrated by television producers.

"It wasn't a set up... I get all these reality TV shows that go around, and there are so many things where storylines are set up, but this wasn't one, and that's all I can say," he insisted.

This Morning airs on weekdays on ITV1 from 10am. Britain's Got Talent airs on Saturdays on ITV1 from 7pm.