Simon Cowell loves mother's cooking

Simon Cowell refused to take his mother out to lunch because he wanted her to cook.

The music mogul is incredibly close to his mum Julie and sees her almost every week, and though he likes to treat his family, he thinks there is nothing better than a home-cooked meal.

He said: "She comes up to me. And I drove down there recently. I called her out because I really wanted my mum to cook me lunch. And I said, 'I'm going to come down tomorrow for lunch'. She said, 'Great, well, book a hotel'. I said, 'No, I want your lunch'. So eventually she did cook for me. But I like those days."

While Simon, 51 and his mother are close, he admits they occasionally clash and they are both to stubborn to apologise after their rows, making him feel like he is "12 years old" again.

He told CNN presenter Piers Morgan: "We fight. I mean, she was round the other day, and I said something to her, it was a joke, and she stood up, and she said, 'I'm not going to say what I was about to say'. I said, 'Mum, it was a joke'. So then she sits down. Then the two of us sulk.

"And eventually one of us has to say sorry but you don't want to be the one - I'm now 12 years old, I'm not going to say sorry. She's got to say sorry to me. And she's thinking the same thing. The effect she has on me is absolutely hysterical."

Simon's father Eric passed away in 1999 and though 'The X Factor' boss admits his death was the "worst day" of his life, he thinks his dad taught him a lot about being successful.

He explained "I can't lie, it was the worst day of my life, a horrible, horrible time.

"Then, over the years since, you know, I'm thankful for all the support and guidance he gave me, and it gives you a sense of perspective.

"He said to me - because he was successful, my dad, when he ran his company - he said, 'Everybody around you has an invisible sign on their head which says, 'Make me feel important'.'

"What I understood from that is you've got to recognise that actually everyone around you wants to be recognised, wants to be appreciated. I try and remember that, when I make a show, everyone has played a part in it. The show is created, truthfully, by 500 people every week."