Why Birmingham is important to Simon Cowell whose mum was born in the city

Simon Cowell, 63, is one of the best known global celebrities from the UK and he has a deep connection with Birmingham.

In 2016, he even declared himself a Brummie calling it “sort of his birthplace”. His mother, Julie, was born here when her father worked in the city. Simon was very close to his mother who died at the age of 89 due to stroke in 2014.

In 2015, during an X Factor audition, he teared up when he was grieving. A contestant, Josh Daniels, sang Jealous by Labrinth and dedicated it to his best friend who passed away in 2013. Simon, who was also grieving, became emotional after hearing the song.

He spoke about his emotional reaction on Loose Women, according to Hello! He said: “I mean it was quite near when it all happened and I think it was the last audition and I wasn’t really expecting what happened.”

The 63-year-old TV personality went back to work just two days after she died. He explained his decision saying: “She was a huge fan of the show, she loved the show which sort of made the decision, ‘When do you go back to work on something like this?’ because it’s hard and it really was what I thought she would have said to me which was, ‘No 100 per cent you’ve got to go back to work.’”

“I thought about it long and hard. I gave myself two or three days and then… I know it sounds like a cliché, but having such a strong bond with my mum meant I knew exactly what she’d have said. It would have been ‘this is your show, you love the show, go back and do your job’,” he told the MailOnline.

Julie - who battled cancer in the 1990s - left £792,126 for Simon, according to Daily Mail. Simon and she had grown closer since his father’s death in 1999 at the age of 81. He would go to her for advice often and she would also visit the set of The X Factor.

When doctors had told him that she had only months to live, he was in denial, he said. “I wouldn’t listen. I kept saying right to the end that there was hope. And I wasn’t prepared for it. You know, it all happened in my 50s. I have a son and then I lost my mother. It changes you. I’m still going through it,” he said.

For him, she was someone who could “reduce me to being a five-year-old all over again.” He added: “She’d call me up and go nuts at me for swearing on television.”

Despite the many years since, he still talks to her. “I talk to my mum every day and my dad. Literally. You learn that right? Every decision you wanna make you always talk to them,” he said, according to Metro UK.

The record producer had visited Birmingham in 2016 for Britain’s Got Talent auditions when he declared himself a son of Birmingham. The auditions to look for the next big entertainer took place at the Hippodrome and he was welcomed by dozens of fans outside the hotel where he was staying during his time here.