Simon Cowell gets son Eric a role in new Scooby-Doo movie 'SCOOB!'

Simon Cowell has bagged his six-year-old son Eric his first role in a Hollywood movie, at the age of six.

The Britain’s Got Talent judge plays himself in the new animated Scooby-Doo movie SCOOB! and Eric will voice the role of Ben, a young tourist at the Acropolis in Greece.

Cowell, 60, announced on Instagram: “I watched Scooby Doo as a kid and now I’m thrilled to be watching it again with my son Eric. So when we got asked to be in the new Scooby Doo movie ‘@SCOOB!’, it was the quickest yes I’ve ever said.

“We never really got to find out how Scooby and Shaggy met the rest of the gang and now we do. It’s brilliant and what’s more brilliant is that you will be able to watch it at home on May 15.”

The TV and music mogul has previously voiced himself as an animated character in The Simpsons and Family Guy, but this is Eric’s acting debut.

Cowell joked of working with his son: “Oh, it’s a nightmare working with Eric. He’s so competitive. He was better than me and he knows that because he had a part – so when I was terrible, he was fantastic. But it was so much fun. I mean, really so much fun.”

The film, which also features the voices of Mark Wahlberg, Zac Efron and Amanda Seyfried, tells the story of how Scooby-Doo and Shaggy met Fred, Velma and Daphne to form detective agency Mystery Inc.

Read more: Simon Cowell thinking about publishing a cookbook after body transformation

Earlier this year Cowell revealed that he has signed a publishing deal to write a series of children’s books called Wishfits, inspired by Eric’s made-up hybrid animal species.

Cowell revealed: “WISHFIT is a world where the most unusual animals exist. The WISHFITS are magical, unusual and have evolved in a weird and wonderful way, combining two different species to form hybrid animals with very distinct characteristics!

“To be able to write a series of books with my son Eric has been magical.”