Simon Cowell claims he would have died if he became a child star

Simon Cowell has confessed that if he had hit the big time when he was at a tender age, the pressure might have killed him.

The 53-year-old media mogul told the Mirror that his teenage self would have struggled to handle the stresses of stardom.

The comments have come at the height of a war of words over children in the spotlight fuelled by criticism of his ITV talent show from showbiz veteran Bruce Forsyth and Jessie J.

The 53-year-old media mogul did not become a household name until he passed 40.