BRITAIN'S Got Talent was at the centre of a huge security lapse this evening when a woman stormed the stage and threw eggs at Simon Cowell and his panel of judges.

Opera singers Richard and Adam Johnson were just approaching the climax of their performance of To Dream The Impossible Dream when the smartly dressed assailant appeared to walk out of the orchestra and launch her attack.

Walking between the pair, armed with a carton of eggs, she proceeded to throw them at Cowell, David Walliams, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden.

It took a good 20 to 30 seconds before security rushed onto the stage to manhandle the woman off, by which time she had managed to hit two of her targets, Cowell forced into removing his jacket.

A clearly embarrassed host, Ant McPartlin, promised that ITV would get to the bottom of the matter, which is bound to spark an investigation.

"That wasn't part of the act, and we'll get to the bottom of what that was," he said.

After they had gathered themselves, the hosts were clearly angered by the incident, Holden calling the woman a "silly cow".

Trying to put a brave face on proceedings Cowell said: "I did actually send a tweet out saying I don't like eggs and I really don't like eggs now. I have no idea what that was about. So whoever is watching, I really do apologise. And I'm sorry for you guys because I thought she was throwing sandwiches at them."

Also addressing the brothers, Dixon said: "I'm so sorry about what just happened, I'm so annoyed about that. But you carried on. And I love you for that."