Britain's Got Talent judge David Walliams is reported to have leaped into action when the show's head judge Simon Cowell choked on a mint during auditions in Birmingham.

The Mirror newspaper reports that when SiCo began to choke, Amanda Holden leaned over and started hitting him on the back.

Then Walliams apparently jumped up and grabbed Cowell from behind, pulling into his stomach to force him to dislodge the rogue sweetie.

A source from the show described the incident at Birmingham's ICC said: "In between watching the auditions Simon was enjoying a mint when all of a sudden it must have got lodged in his throat. He started coughing and spluttering very badly until Amanda and David stepped in.

"As Amanda sits next to Simon she immediately started hitting him on the back to try and dislodge the mint.

"And despite them bickering during auditions, as soon as David noticed his Simon was in trouble he leapt up from his chair to help. He put his all into giving him the Heimlich manoeuvre and seemed to be enjoying it a little too much, while Simon on the other hand looked uneasy, although he was grateful to David for helping him out.

"Thankfully the mint got dislodged and Simon was able to continue but he was a bit flustered for the next few auditions. He owes David his life now!"