Music mogul Simon Cowell has revealed that losing his mother, 89-year-old Julie, was devastating but taught him a lot about his approach to life.  

Speaking to Britain's Weekend magazine, the star admitted that he tried to keep time off to a minimum as his mother would have wanted him to continue on with business as usual:

"I thought about it long and hard. I gave myself two or three days... I know it sounds like a cliche, but having such a strong bond with my mum meant I knew exactly what she'd have said... It would have been, 'This is your show, you love the show, go back and do your job'. She was a former dancer, very much 'the show must go on'. I think she'd have been disappointed if I'd said 'I'm not going to do it'."

"I'm not going to lie. There were times it was incredibly difficult but then there were other times I was able to switch my mind off and concentrate on what was happening and the contestants."

Cowell went onto add that the fact he took the most comfort in with the death of his mother was that there was time to say goodbye to her:

"It wasn't like my father's death, which was a huge shock. I had my time with my mum to say goodbye. The biggest regret you'd ever have is not to have the chance to say how you feel about someone... Not that there's ever a good time for it to happen, and it is still all a bit raw. I know I'll miss her every day, but I also know I'm incredibly grateful to have had her... She was an optimist, my mum, and I think I've got that in me as well. I'm trying not to be the victim here."

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