My mum will be the judge, David Walliams tells Britain's Got Talent hopeful

The Little Britain star, who brought his mother Kathleen, 68, to the final stages of the first-round London auditions for the new ITV series, sought her advice last night as the judges decided the fate of a young classical singer.

Walliams, whose father, Peter, died four years ago, often takes his mother to showbusiness events. The contestant split the panel down the middle.

Walliams told her: "This sounds like the kind of thing I'd buy my mother for Mother's Day. My mum's in the audience - Mum, would you be happy with that?" She nodded in a bid to save the hopeful, but the outcome will be revealed when the show is broadcast later this year.

Simon Cowell is back on the panel this year, joining newcomers Walliams and Alesha Dixon, and Amanda Holden, who was replaced by American actress Carmen Electra this week as she recovers from complications during the recent birth of her daughter Hollie Rose. Last night was the third evening at the Apollo, and Electra, 39, seemed to have won over her critics after receiving a hostile reception at her first appearance this week.

Cowell told the audience not to believe the "rubbish" reported on the booing she had suffered. An onlooker said Cowell and Electra were "very flirty with each other during filming".