Simon Cowell makes first public appearance after death of his mum to unveil official X Factor judging panel

Simon Cowell has appeared in public for the first time since the sad death of his mum earlier this week to unveil the new X Factor judging line-up.

Turning up at the second-round auditions in Manchester yesterday afternoon, Simon was snapped with fellow judge Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and XF newbies Rita Ora and Nick Grimshaw.

They were joined by the new presenters, Caroline Flack and Olly Murs, who are taking over from Dermot O’Leary.

Also there – although not in the official portrait – were Rochelle Humes and Melvin O’Doom, who will be presenting The Xtra Factor this year.

Simon has not spoken about his grief in public yet since tweeting about the sad news on Monday.

Filming in Manchester was set back by two days to give him a chance to let the news sink in, although he was reportedly keen to get back to a normal routine as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Cheryl – who sparked concern yesterday when she stepped out looking TINY on the red carpet – has since tweeted her commiserations to those who didn’t get through the audition round:

While Grimmy is having an absolute whale of a time:

N’aww. The X Factor 2015 returns to our screens this August, and with the room auditions being scrapped, we’ll be going straight to arenas.

X Factor 2015 - Manchester auditions and red carpet arrivals