MUSIC mogul Simon Cowell has thanked his "incredible" fans for their support following the death of his mother.

The X-Factor boss lost his mother Julie, who lived in Rottingdean, on July 5 after a long period of illness.

Simon said he would "terribly miss" the "special and beloved" 89-year-old.

Revealing further details about her death, he said: "She'd been ill for a very long time. It really happened last year and it was a tough, tough period.

"But I didn't want to burden anyone else with my problem. That's why I never talked about it.

"In a way, that was the hardest part because it was always on your mind. But look, I experienced it with my dad and the only thing I can say is that I have incredible memories."

Thanking his fans for their support on Twitter, Simon added: "They were incredible. That kind of got me through it if I'm being honest. Not all of your life is under your control. No matter how well your career is going and you're happy and you think you've got your life under control, things happen out of the blue. Some good, some bad."

X Factor auditions which were set to begin in Manchester the day after Mrs Cowell's death were cancelled following the news of her passing.

Mrs Cowell was the mother of four boys - Nicholas, Simon, Tony and Michael, and step-mother to John and June.