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Simon Cowell has admitted that he and his fellow judges looked "disgusting" in the unearthed footage but suggested the reality was "even worse" than Britain's Got Talent fans could ever imagine.

Susan Boyle left viewers stunned becoming an overnight sensation following her audition on the ITV programme back in 2009. Susan's performance of I Dreamed A Dream for BGT judges Piers Morgan, Amanda Holden and Simon made her one of the most successful contestants to come out of the competition.

Fans will recall the Scottish-born star took to the stage, but unfortunately both the judging panel and studio audience appeared dismissive and at worst was not even taken seriously, before she had even opened her mouth. Despite shocking everyone with her amazing vocals, Simon has now addressed his behaviour more than 15 years later, admitting his initial reaction to Susan was "disgusting".

During a new interview on Jamie East's podcast Tales From The Celebrity Trenches, the TV mogul reflected on Susan's audition, agreeing: "When you watch it back, I'm like, 'God, you look so awful. Just horrible'."

"Actually, I remember saying, 'I don't think we look bad enough'," he admitted. "I think we were even worse than that."

He went on: "We are awful. All of us. I mean, that look Piers gives me. It's just I think of all the looks I've ever remembered, that might be the worst. And I was just as bad. We all were.

"And then, you know, thank God for her, it all worked out well. And, of course, I had the ability to cut all that stuff out. But it was a bit of a wake up call. Which is, you can't judge a book by its cover."

"We do look disgusting," he continued. "But you've got to hold your hands up at that moment. A lot of people are going to realise [when the audition airs] that we're just horrible. And so we're going to say sorry. And that's what we did."

But it was not all bad news for Susan who went on to enjoy a successful music career after she finished as a runner up on the third season of BGT. She also gained a record deal as the singer was signed by Simon.

Susan has gone on to release seven studio albums including four UK number ones. She has received two Grammy nominations and set a new record for first-week sales for a debut album.