After being left terrified by a bizarre and seriously creepy Britain’s Got Talent act, Amanda Holden shouted the f-word live on ITV on Monday night.
The judge was a not-so-willing participant in The Haunting’s performance, which saw her being led around a series of backstage areas (a bit like those horror mazes at theme parks).
And as the terrifying act got more and more intense, Amanda lost her cool and shouted “fuck” while standing on stage, before covering her mouth and looking horrified.
Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly apologised for the bad language as soon as the act was finished, telling viewers: “We’d like to apologise if you heard any bad language there from Amanda as she was very, very scared as you could see.”
When it was time for the judges to give their critiques, Amanda said: “I just really want to apologise if I said anything...”
Simon Cowell then cut in, half-jokingly telling her: “You did.”
A shaken Amanda continued apologising profusely, adding: “I said a really terrible word... I know there are kids watching, I know my kids are watching, so massive apologies.
“I can honestly say I feel terrified.”
The Haunting was a big hit with the judges, but not so much with fans, who spotted one of the illusionist’s helpers hiding round a corner midway through the performance:
The Haunting’s performance was soon uploaded to the Britain’s Got Talent YouTube page – with Amanda’s swearing bleeped out obviously. You can watch the full (creepy) six minutes at the top of this article.
Monday’s episode was the first of five live semi-finals, ahead of the grand finale on Sunday night. It also marked Ant McPartlin’s return to live television after an extended break from the spotlight.