Viewers were left perplexed after witnessing Simon Cowell’s appearance on Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.

The 64-year-old music mogul participated in the inaugural episode of the show’s latest series, making a dramatic entrance via a rocket ship onto the stage. Notably, Cowell was also on the receiving end of a prank orchestrated by the presenting duo in Malibu, where they arranged for a mock police officer to pull him over while he was biking down the street.

Despite the entertainment, some spectators expressed concerns about Cowell’s looks, with a few even questioning whether it was genuinely him.

Following a prior episode of Saturday Night Takeaway where the hosts jokingly referred to Cowell as having a ‘new face,’ the former X-Factor judge refuted any claims of undergoing a facelift. He clarified to the Mirror, “I think it’s hysterical. I mean, it just makes me laugh. I haven’t had a facelift or anything. I’ve had a bit of Botox or whatever, but nothing drastic. So when I hear about this stuff, honestly it does make me laugh.”

Even guest Stephen Merchant couldn’t resist remarking on Cowell’s appearance, quipping, “I didn’t like it… I loved it. That was my impression of Simon, it wasn’t very convincing because my face moved.” Fans on social media platforms were swift to air their thoughts, with one questioning, “Is that definitely Simon Cowell?” Another remarked that he looked “more and more like a cartoon every time I see him.”

Furthermore, viewers caught onto Merchant’s jab at Cowell, with one commenting, “Stephen Merchant just proper mugged off Simon Cowell then.”

Ant and Dec went the extra mile by traveling to Los Angeles to execute the undercover prank on their longtime colleague. This wasn’t the first instance of Cowell falling prey to their pranks, as he was also their inaugural target back in the day. Reflecting on the experience, Ant shared, “It was even sweeter getting him the second time round because we also got him during his downtime as he’s riding his bike around Malibu, it’s very, very funny. We are ending the Undercovers where we started… with Simon Cowell! Our first-ever Undercover was on Simon in LA when he was a judge on American Idol. So we’ve gone back and got Simon Cowell again. We went out to LA and gave him the day from hell whilst he was judging on America’s Got Talent.”