Amanda Holden is convinced Simon Cowell will return to 'Britain's Got Talent' in 2021.
Amanda Holden
The 49-year-old TV star replaced Simon as the show's head judge after the music mogul suffered a serious back injury in August, but he is working hard to recover and Amanda is confident he'll return to the show next year.
She told 'Good Morning Britain's Piers Morgan: "His will to get better is extraordinary.
"He is a fighter, we know that, Piers, and there's just no way that he will want to be seen to be failing or to not be getting better as quick as he possibly can, so I know that we'll see him next year."
Amanda also joked that now she's successfully filled the void left by Simon, she'll be asking the music mogul for a pay rise.
She said: "I'm going to ask for parity of pay - I think that's only fair. As a female and the head, I feel I should at least be on the same wage as him. I'm going to donate it to save some theatres."
Amanda also praised Ashley Banjo and Diversity for their Black Lives Matter-inspired dance performance during the recently-concluded series.
The blonde beauty thinks the routine has helped to provoke a much-needed conversation about racial injustice.
She said: "I think it shows what a great show 'Britain's Got Talent' is because we're there to entertain, but not always comfortably.
"We're there to sort of start a conversation and to make people kind of wake up and discuss things they might not always think about talking about with their children or other members of their family. In that way, it's a very healthy and positive thing."
Amanda also praised Ashley and ITV for the way they dealt with the fallout from the performance.
She explained: "For Ashley, I think it was ... I think he kind of expected to make an impact, but probably wasn't expecting the furore that followed it. I think he dealt with it brilliantly.
"I think as judges we all stood side-by-side with him and ITV very publicly did - hats off to them."
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