Simon Cowell

Simon Cowell has made his first public appearance since the death of Liam Payne. The music mogul, 65, stepped out at the Pride of Britain awards on Monday night at London's The Grosvenor House Hotel. But while hordes of celebrities dazzled for the cameras, Simon opted to skip the red carpet and headed straight into the ceremony instead.

For millions of One Direction fans around the world, the news that the band were to go their separate ways in January 2016 marked the end of an era. But for Liam Payne, it offered an unbeatable opportunity. Here - finally - was the chance to break free from 'the clutches' of the very man who had orchestrated their rise to global superstardom. That man, of course, was music mogul Simon Cowell who had plucked the five boys from obscurity to form the band on ITV show The X Factor in 2010, and who had, for six years, controlled most aspects of their lives.

He is the new star that Britain's Got Talent hopes can revive its ailing fortunes. But ITV , production company Thames and boss Simon Cowell are facing a backlash because rapper and social-media influencer KSI has made a string of racist and sexist comments in the past. The 31-year-old, a former pupil at the £23,000-a-year Berkhamsted School in Hertfordshire, has more than 24 million YouTube subscribers and is worth an eye-watering £34 million. He began filming the talent show last week alongside fellow judges Cowell, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden. But the chairman of Parliament's culture, media and sport committee last night questioned ITV's latest hire. Dame Caroline Dinenage (inset) said: 'KSI clearly brings a whole new audience to Britain's Got Talent. But in the competition for ratings, surely ITV are questioning whether his back catalogue of unsavoury comments really represents the values that they are keen to promote in a family show.'

It sounds like there was some trouble in paradise between Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman before he popped the question last month! While the couple is finally engaged after 13 years together, a source spilled to Page Six on Wednesday that the 62-year-old record exec may have only got down on one knee as a last-ditch effort to save their relationship since it was in “crisis” at the time:

Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman are in it for the long haul!According to the America’s Got Talent judge’s representative who spoke with E! News from the weekend, Simon popped the question during a romantic walk on the beach in Barbados, where they first met. And no surprise here: she said yes! On Tuesday, People also confirmed that their 7-year-old son Eric and Lauren’s 16-year-old son Adam, whom she shares with ex-husband Andrew Silverman, were there to witness the magical moment!A source also told the outlet: