Simon Cowell hits back at claims he's had facelift after Ant and Dec's cheeky joke

Simon Cowell has officially had his say on rumours that he's had a facelift after his Britain's Got Talent co-stars, Ant and Dec, made a cheeky dig at him.

Between the X-Factor and Britain's Got Talent, Cowell has managed to pop up on our screens a lot over the last few decades, so it's safe to say fans are pretty familiar with what he looks like.

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Though he might act a bit like a robot with his brutal honesty sometimes, Cowell is in fact subject to ageing like the rest of us - although those BGT judges do seem to have a knack for avoiding it - so it's natural that his appearance would change over time.

But some fans were left particularly stunned by his looks, as the latest series of the talent show gets underway, with Cowell appearing on chat shows to promote the new show.

"What on earth is going on with Simon Cowell's face?," one viewer wrote after seeing him on TV this week, while another commented: "Simon Cowell doesn’t look like Simon Cowell anymore."

There's been a lot of speculation over whether the judge has had a 'facelift', and of course Ant and Dec couldn't resist alluding to the rumours, as they spoke with press ahead of the BGT launch.

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With new judge Bruno Tonioli joining Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon on the judging panel this year, Dec said: "We have a new face joining the judging panel."

Ant then quickly stepped in, joking: "What? Simon has a new face?"

Cowell probably couldn't have expected anything less from the two jokers, and when he spoke out about the rumours of getting some serious surgery, he made one thing clear: it's a no from him.

"I think it's hysterical," Cowell told The Mirror. "I mean, it just makes me laugh. I haven't had a facelift or anything. I've had a bit of Botox or whatever, but nothing drastic. So when I hear about this stuff, honestly it does make me laugh."

So it seems like there really is only one sparkling new face joining the show, and Cowell is confident Tonioli is a 'completely natural fit'.

He said: "It was quite remarkable. Even though he'd never seen the show before, it was just brilliant. It was seamless and as I said before, he's brought some chaos to the show.

"But I'm kind of watching the show through his eyes again because he has never seen it and he's so excited. It really is great."

You can catch the judges and Ant and Dec on ITV tonight (15 April), as Britain's Got Talent kicks off at 8pm.