Simon Cowell has reportedly axed a number of contestants from 'Britain's Got Talent' after he found out they had a secret showbiz past.
Simon Cowell
The 57-year-old show creator and the rest of the judges - Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams - were so settled on the 40 hopefuls who had made it through to next week's semi-finals but they have been forced to make some last-minute changes after they realised some had already had a crack at stardom in the past.
A source told the Daily Star newspaper: "A lot of the acts who are in the semi-finals are genuine performers looking for their first break rather 'Second Chance Charlies'."
It's believed acrobats Gao Lin and Liu Xin, from Beijing, have been given the chop after it make known that they had previously featured on 'Asia and China's Got Talent'.
Sian Patterson has also been given the boot after she was exposed as a professional singer, while contortion group Angara Contortion are part of 'Cirque de Soleil'.
And the final act to eliminated from the competition is razor-blade wizard TanBA, from Japan, after it became known that he's a professional magician.
Meanwhile, although Simon, the rest of panel and presenting duo Ant McPartlin, 41, and Dec Donnelly, 41, have all awarded their Golden Buzzers, Amanda is adamant they don't treat them any differently.
She said: "We never speak to the contestants after the auditions.
"I spoke to him on stage and that was it.
"I think it's important not to have any influence or treat them differently just because they are Golden Buzzer acts."
Simon recently admitted he'd like to get his three-year-old son Eric - who he has with partner Lauren Silverman - on the judging panel of the show.
Tagged in Alesha Dixon Amanda Holden Simon Cowell