Amanda returns to Britain's Got Talent with a new look - and she's got more young admirers than ever
According to the old adage, with age women look elderly while men simply become “distinguished”. Not in the case of Amanda Holden.
Thanks to a recent makeover, at 43 the stunning Britain’s Got Talent star is looking better than ever – and getting more young admirers than ever before.
“I’ve had a lot of positive comments over the past year,” she says. “I now have a new stylist, and new hair and make-up people. Every now and then it’s good to have a cabinet reshuffle and, similarly, I’ve had a bit of a wardrobe reshuffle.
“I hate saying that, though, because my old team were great and are still my friends. But for whatever reason, I’m getting a lot more comments about my appearance. It is really flattering.
“Embarrassingly, I’ve had lots of MILF comments… God, I feel really uncomfortable saying that! But I let myself down every time it happens.
“One of The X Factor’s Stereo Kicks said something flirty the other day, and I replied by telling him: ‘I could literally be your mother’, in a really sort of nervous/embarrassed/awkward way. I seem to want to slam all that kind of stuff down.”
A petite size 8 – “running and a bit of yoga when I find the time” – the results of her hard work were put on display last month when she tweeted a photo of her pert posterior.
A nod to a forthcoming interview with Lady Gaga on This Morning – the American singer was famously pictured with her bottom hanging out – the image was retweeted in its thousands.
Recently Amanda has gone bare-faced in another department – Botox.
Like Kylie Minogue, who renounced it following her breast cancer diagnosis, the actress gave up the injections two years ago following a difficult birth with daughter Hollie.
Instead, Amanda admits to being a fan of a new breed of facial, using radio frequency energy to tighten the skin.
She says: “Along the lines of Kylie when she had cancer, I gave it up after Hollie. For the last three years I haven’t bothered, and have instead been having Collagen Wave facials by a wonderful lady called Nilam Patel. It’s done amazing things to my face.”
And that is not the only change she has made to her beauty regime. A la Cara Delevingne, she’s also plumped for bushier eyebrows of late.
She says: “Making them longer and thicker takes years off a person. As a youngster, I think I even took a razor to mine at one point – so I’ve been quite lucky they’ve been able to grow out in the first place.”
The BGT judge has been confirmed for the new series of the ITV1 talent show, once again alongside Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams.
With filming starting next month, ITV will be setting up a special creche for the stars’ young children. Amanda says: “We’ve all had the right sex children for our judging positions. So I’d love to see them lined up in our seats. All they’d need is booster seats.”
When I ask whether it is true Simon already has a booster seat in place, she giggles: “Oooh, I couldn’t possibly comment.” So that’s a yes, then.
He may be her boss, but Amanda isn’t above poking fun at the Cuban heel-wearing, booster seat-sitting Simon, 55.
Following the arrival of his first born, Eric, in February, Amanda has noticed a marked change in the star.
She is also a big fan of his girlfriend, Lauren Silverman, 37, and credits the American for bringing order to Simon’s life.
Quite a lot of order, by the sound of it.
“Simon has embraced fatherhood,” Amanda says. “A few edges he had have been softened.
“I love how much he’s sharing of Eric with us all.
Lauren’s brought the best out of Simon, we all love her. She’s really calming but also very, very feisty. She’s not a ‘yes’ woman. She is pretty fearless and tells Simon exactly what she thinks, which I love.
“And she often has great ideas about styling and, on the show, who should do what song.
“Lauren introduced domesticity into Simon’s life, which has made things better for him. Everything he worried was going to be boring has turned out to be the best thing ever.”
With a piddling two-year age gap between their children, Amanda is embracing the idea of a Cowell-Holden dynasty.
She grins: “Eric will come on the road for this series and Hollie’s birthday is during the show, so we are planning a play date. We’ve got to discuss dowries… I mean, Eric is going to be prince of his own empire.”
When I point out Simon has been vociferous in his disapproval of inherited wealth, she replies: “Oh, he’ll change his mind on that one.” It is a case of family first, celebrity second for Amanda.
Raised by her mum Judith and stepdad Leslie, she has had little contact with her birth
dad Frank after he “walked out when I was four”, only seeing him a handful of times since.
dad Frank after he “walked out when I was four”, only seeing him a handful of times since.
Her first screen appearance was on Blind Date at 19, but after attending Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in North London she soon got minor TV roles in EastEnders and Jonathan Creek.
She made her name in Cutting It and Wild At Heart, before being picked as a BGT judge in 2007.
Her love life has been less straightforward, however. Her first marriage to Les Dennis floundered after an affair with Men Behaving Badly star Neil Morrissey in 2000.
But Amanda is now happily married to record producer Chris Hughes, and they live in London with daughters Lexi, eight, and two-year-old Hollie. There is no doubt Amanda takes motherhood seriously and showbusiness less so. Even in interviews.
Halfway through our chat I am stumped for words when she asks: “Wee wee? Do you want a little wee wee?”
I pause. “Er, no, I’m OK, thanks,” I eventually stumble. “I went earlier,” I add, needlessly.
“God, no sorry – I’m not talking to you,” she laughs. “I’m asking Hollie.” Toilet break over, Amanda admits she refuses to believe her own hype: “I never Google myself. Ever.
Chris has got me on Google alert so he will tell me if something’s been said on Twitter that isn’t right. I live in a bubble; I don’t want to know. My motto is ‘never scroll down’… I’m very happy.”
Amanda has been a regular on This Morning for the past two months, filling in for Holly Willoughby, who is on maternity leave. It’s a role Amanda is loving. Her chemistry with co-host Phillip Schofield has gone down well with viewers – so much so her contract has been extended until the summer, as Holly is taking a full year off.
“It really is a dream gig,” she smiles. “I catch myself looking at Phillip and thinking, ‘Oooh it’s Phillip Schofield’.
“I get giddy. He’s fun to work with, naughty, and always making me laugh. It’s a wonderful show – I feel like I’ve won a prize.”
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