soft

Simon Cowell, who was known for his brutal takedowns of fame-hungry hopefuls, is ‘back’ according to Britain’s Got Talent co-star Amanda Holden, who says his toned-down persona is gone

Amanda Holden believes her Britain’s Got Talent co-star Simon Cowell is back to his former, more straight-talking self, having ditched his “Mr Soft” act. As the ITV talent hunt gets underway, Amanda is glad to see the return of Simon’s infamous “one liners”, on the “chaotic” new series.

The new series, which began on 21st February, has already frustrated viewers at home. During the first episode fans were getting worked up over the ‘overuse’ of the infamous golden buzzer. As Ant and Dec reminded viewers at the start of the show, the golden buzzer is used when one of the judges deemed a contestant good enough to bypass the rest of the auditions and go straight through to the semi-final.

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But while fans were already complaining, Amanda Holden has promised this series will be full of drama. As reported by the Mail, she explained: “Simon is back. He’s been Mr Soft in recent years, and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that KSI is so honest on the other end of the panel.”

Explaining he is done with ‘sugar coating’ his comments, she added: “I’m glad to see that Simon is no longer being soft serve ice-cream, although it was nice for a year or so!”

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Amanda says the new series “feels very loose and very chaotic”, with KSI helping the show thanks to his “succint” answers. Meanwhile “the old Simon” is back, with the Heart Radio host saying she is “loving” that Simon’s “one liners are better than ever”.

Simon has assured fans there will be “lots of surprises”, with more behind-the-scenes filming, letting the audience at home “behind the Wizard of Oz’s curtain”. But Amanda has recently admitted he “hated” one aspect of filming the new series.

The star was forced to step into head judge Simon’s role, after he had to miss filming after falling down some steps and hitting his head. The brief shake up saw Amanda thrust into head judge duties, with X Factor runner up Stacey Solomon joining the panel as a guest.

As reported by the Daily Star, Amanda explained: “I must admit I hated sitting in that seat! I’ve been on the show the longest, so I understand why I probably need to sit in that seat, but when I was there, I felt very outcast on the end.

“It’s okay if your team are sat to the left of you, Simon’s got dozens of staff and family watching from the side and communicating with him. Mine all decided to eat my snacks and sit in the dressing room paying no attention to the show or me whatsoever!

“Simon said to me, ‘You must have loved it. Did you feel powerful?’ I said I hated it because I had to keep leaning in to be part of the conversation. I never want to sit in that seat again! I’m juicy in the middle, it’s such a good spot.”

Elsewhere, talking about Stacey joining the judging panel, Amanda said: “She’s so lovely and I think we’ve got quite a similar style of judging.

“She’s warm, she’s super funny, she has a great understanding of what it’s like to be on the other side, because she obviously auditioned for The X Factor all those years ago.

“Even though she’s smashing it in the real world now, she’s very down to earth and doesn’t have an ego, so I think that worked really nicely for the day that she was pulled in. We’re all fans of her and her crafting is through the roof. If only I could be that type of mother!”

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THE Cotswolds is already a great place to visit, but nearby is a farm that parents are raving about as a great day out,

Millets Farm opened back in 1952, originally as a dairy farm.

Now, the farm is home to multiple attractions including a play barn, Maize Maze and Farmyard Golf.

The attraction is split into pre-booked activities and no pre-booking required activities.

For example, you could head off on the Millets Animal Walkway, where visitors will see a number of farm animals including goats, chickens, rabbits, horses, birds and alpacas.

The play area also doesn’t need pre-booking and has a mix of swings, slides, climbing frames and more.

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There are also token-operated ride-on tractors, diggers and a crane which little ones can go on.

One token costs £1.75, three tokens cost £4.50 and five tokens cost £6.

If the weather isn’t rainy, you can also check out the 10 acre Phoebe Wood, where there are a number of woodland walks.

There are then several activities you have to book ahead for, such as Sprouts Play Barn with a four-lane wavy cow slide, 360 tunnel, a ‘mini Millets farmers market’ with seven soft role-play areas, a sports court and an area for under five-year-olds.

One recent visitor said: “This has to be the best soft play in Oxfordshire, it’s absolutely huge and offers a great variety of activities and play equipment for a wide age range.

“There’s a little baby area at the front, and then lots of fun for bigger kids on the higher levels.”

Another visitor added: “The soft play was the best we have ever been to (and we have been to A LOT).

“Every section was clean, looked brand new and so well thought out.

“It’s huge with four floors and the under fives section is also the biggest I’ve seen.”

Included in the Sprouts admission tickets, you also get access to the outdoor play area which has slides, beams and water play.

There’s also an 18-hole farm themed adventure golf course that you can book.

If you want something that is a little bit more of a thrill, head on the carousel, Ferris Wheel or Jungle Thriller, which all cost £3 a turn.

However, at the moment only the carousel is open until the spring, when other attractions at the park will reopen.

The attraction also hosts a number of events, such as Phil’s Magic Mania Show and Tweedy’s Massive Circus.

There are a number of seasonal events at the farm as well, such as pick your own flowers.

Visitors can explore around 8000 dahlias planted around a bright pink double-decker bus during the summer months.

The site also has a big garden centre, that sells items for both gardeners and non-gardeners.

One recent visitor said: “Such a delightful garden centre to wander around.

“They have everything you can imagine, for any budget. Even a cafe if you need a little break.

“I could have spent all afternoon there.”

When it comes to eating, the attraction has several spots to grab a bite.

For example, there is The Farmhouse Kitchen Restaurant which has both indoor and outdoor seating.

If you fancy an ice cream, head to the Snack Shack.

There there’s also The Food at Webbs restaurant, which can be found inside the garden centre and offers homemade meals.

And if you want to make your stay a bit longer or more special, then head to Wellness at Millets for a beauty treatment.

For more UK farms with family activities, here are six UK farm stays inspired by Clarkson’s Farm from remote cottages to Highland cow petting.

Plus, the English campsite named best farm attraction in the UK reveals new kid’s playground and glamping.