Simon Cowell might be known as TV’s Mr Nasty, but his interview with Piers Morgan, to be shown tonight on ITV1, shows his softer side.

In it, Simon breaks down in tears when he talks of the passing of his father Eric in 1999.

“I find it very, very difficult to deal with that kind of reality. I shut myself off totally because it affects me so badly.”

“And then, because I had to deal with that, it was the hardest thing I ever had to do – because I’d never lost anyone in my life. I just couldn’t accept it.”

Simon also talks about his relationship with his 36-year-old fiancée, Mezhgan Hussainy, with whom he is “smitten”.

Piers Morgan’s Life Stories: Simon Cowell is on tonight at 9pm on ITV1.