Simon Cowell gets depressed when his friends have success

Grumpy Simon Cowell lived up to his Mr Nasty reputation by claiming he even gets depressed when his friends have success.

The acid-tongued telly judge admitted seeing his pals do well leaves him feeling miserable.

He revealed he does not share the joy of wannabe singers who make it through on his TV talent shows.

But he gets more upset if the person celebrating is someone he knows.

The American Idol judge stunned US chatshow host Jay Leno by saying: "It's hard enough when it's someone you don't know who is successful.

"When it's someone you know it's 20 times worse.

"When I see friends on the show happy someone has got through I'm seriously puzzled."

Cowell, who was appearing as a guest with Idol host Ryan Seacrest, insisted: "I think we are all truthfully like that."

Asked by Leno if he is ever happy for friends who succeed, he said: "Oh my God, no!"

Cowell also told how he makes sure he is surrounded by bodyguards to make sure wacky American Idol contestants can't get too close.

He said: "What you don't see is there are probably 15 security guards sitting in the room and without them I wouldn't do the show."