Britain’s Got Talent kicked off its 17th (!!!) series at the weekend, with all of the usual unique tricks, emotional performances and clumsily-shoehorned-in Greatest Showman references we’ve come to expect from the long-running variety show.
However, the series did feature one small surprise – Simon Cowell’s new eyewear.
Throughout the first episode of the new season, the TV mogul was seen sporting a pair of tinted red sunglasses while on the judging panel.
Far from being an assertion of his diva-dom, Simon wrote on Instagram before the series got underway that he’s taken to wearing the glasses for medical reasons.
“I just found out, according to the internet, I have a ‘mystery illness’,” he wrote on Instagram back in February, in response to speculation about his health.
“For anyone concerned, I missed two auditions at the end of one day, two weeks ago, because I do get migraines after long days in the filming lights.”
“This is why I wear these glasses!” he added.
Simon also told The Sun last week: “The red glasses are because I have lights in my eyes all day long.”
He claimed that as a result of the lights, he suffers from terrible migraines, with the red glasses acting “like a filter”.
“And they actually do work!” he enthused.
The current series of Britain’s Got Talent marks former Strictly Come Dancing star Bruno Tonioli’s second on the judging panel, after taking over from David Walliams last year.
ITV has already revealed the show drew in a peak audience of 5.8 million viewers on Saturday, making the BGT launch the channel’s most-watched of the year in the overnight viewing figures.
Britain’s Got Talent continues on Saturday night at 7.30pm on ITV1.