Simon Cowell started drinking and smoking at the age of eight | backbiting

Simon Cowell says he was a child’s nightmare. At the age of eight, the talent show judge has already started smoking and drinking, he says The sun.

63-year-old Cowell was no sweetheart. “I wanted to convince my brother that Santa Claus didn’t exist,” the judge recalled. “Then I set fire to the beard of a Santa costume.” Cowell then dropped his beard on the sofa and in no time the room was burned down.

The Brit says he became rebellious because he was bored at school. This even led to his arrest when he threatened a bus driver with a fake gun in an attempt to hijack the bus. Cowell also stole his father’s car at the age of ten and led to total loss.

Cowell thinks those actions don’t fit his personality at all. “I was actually an incredibly shy guy.”