Simon Cowell has donated his £1 million Marks & Spencer pay cheque to a children’s charity.
The 60-year-old star appears in a new ad campaign – which sees him judging sausages and fruit alongside fellow panellists Amanda Holden and David Walliams – being aired on ITV during ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, and he asked the retailer to waive his fee and instead pledge their support to Together For Short Lives.
A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "Simon was delighted when they agreed. It’s wonderful news for the charity."
The organisation – which supports children with life-limiting illness and counts Simon amongst its patrons – is expected to lose at least half of its annual income due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It’s said that the media mogul told M&S he wouldn’t accept a fee to star in the commercials, and instead he wanted them to support the charity with fundraising initiatives over the year amounting to £1 million.
The kind gesture comes after Amanda revealed the ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ boss has continued to pay the show’s staff despite live shows being cancelled during the global health crisis.
She recently said: "He’s very generous. The way that he’s dealt with his staff, paying them while the shows are off, he does everything right and he does it quietly."
Meanwhile, he and his team at Syco have given £1.3 million to be split between Feeding Britain and Feeding America and he also took on £500,000 of the deficit faced by Shooting Star Children’s Hospices, after fundraising was impacted by the pandemic.
He explained: "I don’t like celebrities telling people what to do, and I know this is a hugely difficult time for so many — worries about family, health, jobs, paying the mortgage and feeding their family are at the forefront of people’s minds.
"But there are still other people in business and in entertainment with resources available. So today it’s those people I’m urging to rise to this enormous challenge."