Simon Cowell used the opportunity to make a quick quip about Ant McPartlin

You may have noticed we’ve had some pretty wild weather over the weekend. It went from blistering sunshine to thunderstorms on a whim. And while that may have played havoc with your barbecue plans, it also affected ITV. Early during Monday night’s first live semi-final of Britain's Got Talent. The show went off air for several minutes, leaving viewers confused. https://twitter.com/Jimmmmy84/status/1001171674979586048 https://twitter.com/TomMunns1/status/1001172021353635840 https://twitter.com/elliot_gonzalez/status/1001173251161231360 Even Philip Schofield was rattled. https://twitter.com/Schofe/status/1001172591497891840 ITV1 then began showing audition footage of former winners while they tried to fix the issue. An announcer informed viewers:

"We're having some issues - we hope to return to the show as soon as possible... We are working to fix the issue."

https://twitter.com/BGT/status/1001173915425796096 The show eventually returned, with Declan Donnelly informing viewers that it was the weather playing havoc with the show, which is broadcast from West London. He then joked:

"Going well so far!"

Simon Cowell also used it as an opportunity to make a quick quip about Ant McPartlin, blaming him for the technical difficulties:

"Ant, you are coming back next year - don't do that!"

Dec is currently hosting the show on his own, after took Ant took a break following his conviction for drink driving.