Simon Cowell opens on future of America's Got Talent after string of set backs

Simon Cowell has opened up about the future of America's Got Talent as the 15th series of his hit reality show ground to a halt in March amid the coronavirus pandemic.

A small number of auditions were filmed in front of a live audience in California as normal at the start of the year before restrictions on social-distancing put an end to the gathering of large crowds in America.

Hopefuls trying out for the variety show were then filmed performing in empty rooms as the crew battled to keep the show going before production was shut down entirely when judge Heidi Klum fell ill.

The former supermodel came down with coronavirus symptoms in March and was forced to self-isolate.

After a series of set backs, mogul Cowell said he's still determined the show will still go on and he and the team are putting their heads together to come up with a solution.

The head judge told People magazine : "We started to realise that, for obvious reasons, the audience was getting smaller and smaller and smaller. We had this obligation to make sure that everyone got their fair share, and was auditioned well."

Cowell said it was "really, really important to every single person who turned up."

"So, we literally squeezed in as many, many people as we could," he said. "And as you'll see from the first episode, we found some unbelievably talented people — just fantastic people this year."

Cowell said that the live shows are still due to take place this summer - and he is determined they will air no matter what.

"We've worked out about three different scenarios for how we can shoot the live shows with or without an audience, or a limited audience. And each one of them creatively works," Cowell explained.

"The most important thing is that we have to ensure that since people have auditioned, that they do get the chance safely to be able to compete as they normally do, and get that chance to win a million dollars, or at least appear in the final."

Cowell added that he and the AGT team have been 'racking their brains' to come up with a viable solution to keep the show on air.

"There will be finals, and there will be a winner. Someone's going to walk away with a million dollars," he insisted.

Similar crisis talks have been held on Britain's Got Talent which has also undergone a shake up in response to the health pandemic.

The live shows have been pushed back to later in the year, with Amanda Holden revealing each of the judges have been given a week to keep free in Autumn.

“We would never do it without an audience because we’ve always said the British public is the fifth judge. It would be no fun without them!

“We’ll see what happens, but we are planning to do it this year," she told HuffPost UK.