Amanda Holden knows what it takes to stay at the top as a woman in telly. ‘You can’t be a snob about stuff. You have to keep an open mind to keep going. You have to be the Queen of Reinvention, otherwise it will all stop.’
She’s lived like that for decades, working as an actor, comedian and West End star before becoming a presenter and co-judging Britain’s Got Talent for nearly 20 years. ‘I think, “Maybe this is it now, the last one,”’ she says. ‘But I thought that when we’d done ten years. I’m just bloody grateful for all of it.’
Amanda also has a hit television quiz on her hands with The Inner Circle, but still gets up eye-wateringly early to co-host the breakfast show on Heart Radio with Jamie Theakston every weekday morning. ‘Jamie is the pilot, I’m the air steward with the gin and tonic up the back,’ she laughs. ‘I just tell stories about my day and enjoy myself.’
She’s also been a riot in Amanda & Alan’s Italian Job and its Spanish and Greek sequels with her friend, comedian Alan Carr, swinging hammers at dilapidated properties while trading wisecracks and bitchy stories.
‘We’re just about to sign for a new show, but I’m not allowed to say anything,’ she teases. ‘It’s completely different. It’s amazing that Alan hasn’t told anyone, to be honest: as soon as he came out of Traitors he told me he’d won it, and he’d signed a non-disclosure agreement!’
She makes no secret of working hard to stay glamorous and full of fizz, but that can be deceiving. Some people were surprised when she won the job of hosting The Inner Circle, but she’s a real pro with a knack for improvising on air, flirting with chaos while remaining in control.
‘The Head of Commissioning for Entertainment at the BBC was my champion. They said they wanted someone “dangerous but friendly”. I’ve got a naughty sense of humour. I’m definitely not a run-of-the-mill autocue-reading blonde presenter, for sure.’
Amanda helped develop the show, improvising in rehearsals and tweaking the format until it took the shape that has become so popular since it debuted last year. Six contestants are each assigned a pot of money which they must try to build up. There’s a dash of The Weakest Link about it as they answer questions by running to the correct answer on the game board, forge alliances and vote each other out before the last two standing go head-to-head in the tense finale.
Now the second season of The Celebrity Inner Circle is about to air at primetime on Saturdays, just before Strictly, with the contestants each having a famous pal to help them. ‘People love to see a celebrity trying to run around in a pair of heels and falling over,’ says Amanda.
Amanda Holden worked as an actor, comedian and West End star before becoming a presenter and co-judging Britain’s Got Talent for nearly 20 years
The game has been simplified for this series, to allow more time for a laugh. But the finale, inspired by Jasper Carrott’s much-loved old show Golden Balls, is still there. Split Or Shaft sees a final pair go face-to-face to discuss the prize money they’ve won, usually both swearing blind they’re going to share it. They then vote in secret. If both stay true, they go home happy with half each. If both choose to betray the other, neither takes a penny. If one is trusting and the other isn’t, then the liar takes it all.
‘It blows my mind what people say when they’re trying to insist they’re not going to shaft the other person,’ says Amanda. ‘They use God. They use families. They use sickness. “I’m a church-goer, my faith wouldn’t allow me to double-cross you.” Then they do exactly that!’
Is she surprised how much double-crossing goes on? ‘Maybe it’s the state of the economy, but I think people think, “Sod it, I’ll never see them again. I’m taking the money.”’
What would she do? ‘Shaft, of course!’ Her laugh is wicked. ‘Although it depends. If I had a little old lady in front of me who really needed the money, I might go, “Oh no, I can’t do this.” Or I’d shaft her, then try to do a deal afterwards, give her some of the cash.’ Is that allowed? ‘No. Last year somebody tried to do that and the producers were having none of it. They were like, “That’s illegal.”’
If Amanda needs any help with how to betray people, she has an expert to call on. ‘I’ll ring Alan and ask him.’ She means Alan Carr, of course. In 2023, when the pair appeared on a show in which they renovated two rundown properties in Sicily they’d bought for one euro each, Amanda was the more famous of the two, a truth that draws raucous laughter. ‘Put that down in black and white!’
Then came The Celebrity Traitors, in which Alan told lies and deceived his castlemates but utterly charmed the nation. ‘It’s like everyone’s suddenly heard of him when he’s been funny for years,’ Amanda says. ‘What an unbelievable year he’s had and long may it last.’
They’ve had to suspend their DIY series, as Alan has taken on a solo renovation project, buying a castle in Scotland and doing it up for a series on Disney+. ‘He didn’t come on holiday with me this year for the first time in four years, because he’s got his work cut out. We have been friends for years, but making shows together has brought us closer. Alan has watched my girls grow up and has really good banter with them, especially my younger one, who is very out there and teases him a lot.’
Hollie is 14, her big sister Lexi is 20. Their father, and Amanda’s husband, is Chris Hughes, a record producer and music manager. Amanda manages herself these days, with advice from Chris. ‘I talk to him all day long about everything.’
‘Alan Carr and I have been friends for years, but making shows together has brought us closer. Alan has watched my girls grow up and has really good banter with them, especially my younger one, who is very out there and teases him a lot,’ says Amanda
The second season of The Celebrity Inner Circle, which Amanda helped to develop, is about to air at primetime on Saturdays, just before Strictly, with the contestants each having a famous pal to help them
Amanda with her husband Chris Hughes and their daughters Lexi, 20, and Hollie, 14
Many of Amanda’s peers have also tried new things lately. Claudia Winkleman launched a chat show, then decided it wasn’t for her. Holly Willoughby made a fresh start on YouTube, but her show has run into teething problems. Davina McCall has been successful exploring mid-life wellness and the menopause through podcasts and books.
Amanda applauds their inventiveness. ‘I remember being told at my theatre school, “Get as many strings to your bow as you can, because then you’re more likely to work.” There was never a truer time for that than now. Being open to change is key in any job, because the world at the moment is really difficult.’
Born in 1971, she grew up on the south coast, then attended Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in Peckham, south London. Today she’s at her Surrey home, sitting by the pool in her garden before jetting off to do a corporate job overseas. She doesn’t go in for plastic surgery but is big on creams, tans and treatments, and acts as a brand ambassador for a collagen company. ‘You need to put money on the table and pay the mortgage like anyone else,’ says Amanda, who has at least two to pay, with a country home in the Cotswolds as well.
Attention leads to work in her game, so part of the strategy is to be busy on Instagram, where she has more than three million followers. ‘It’s lovely to have all that support from people. I constantly want to prove I’m worth it, without sounding weird.’ What about the trolls every high-profile woman has to endure? ‘I really don’t scroll down to what all the t**ts on keyboards are saying.’
Alongside the ubiquitous bikini shots, she takes the mickey out of herself all the time and some posts are not glam at all. ‘You can also show yourself pegging out the washing or walking the dog, things everybody thinks you might not do. I keep everything as real as it can be. That’s possibly why I’ve survived, because I’ve been ridiculously truthful my whole career, to the point of detriment. I’ve always worn my heart on my sleeve.’
OK then, if we’re being honest, does she ever look at the line-up for The Celebrity Inner Circle and wonder who on earth some of them are? In the new series TikToker Joe Baggs and YouTuber Max Fosh appear alongside bigger names like former athlete Denise Lewis, Sara Davies of Dragons’ Den fame and Coronation Street actress Claire Sweeney. ‘Yes. Oh God, yes. Then you look at their following on social media and you think, “Right, I’m going to go milk them because they might be able to up my numbers!” So I’m shamelessly in there doing silly dance routines with them. That’s the nature of our business now.’
So what’s her favourite quiz show of all time? The answer is surprising. ‘I used to love watching Family Fortunes, ironically.’ Amanda grew up watching the show with her family when it was presented by Bob Monkhouse, and her first husband, comedian Les Dennis, hosted the show for the eight years she was married to him. ‘I thought Les was brilliant on it and I loved it.’
She and Les divorced in 2003, after Amanda had an affair with the actor Neil Morrissey, provoking fierce media attention that was still intense when Simon Cowell picked her to be a judge on the nation’s favourite talent show four years later. ‘People might not have thought I was a girls’ girl when I went into Britain’s Got Talent, because there were all the stories about me. But any myths people might have believed, with tabloid headlines to do with marriages and affairs, were dispelled by what people saw.’
Amanda emerged as earthy, blunt and funny, but kind to contestants. ‘It was the first time I was able to show who I really am. Simon always says I owe him for that.’
Having been through so much, what does she tell her girls about going into showbusiness? ‘I think they know to be careful. My eldest daughter has an intelligence and a cynicism about the world beyond her years, which she gets from her dad.’ Lexi is currently at university. ‘She’s also been spotted by the Storm agency and is doing some modelling, bits and bobs, enjoying it.’
There were rumours of mother and daughter appearing together on a Channel 4 show, but this is not happening. ‘There’s just no way my children would ever do a reality show. Well, the youngest one might end up on Love Island, she’s a different kettle of fish. Certainly not Lexi, the eldest one. Hollie can sing and dance and act and is fascinated by the industry, but hates anyone at school saying, “Is your mum Amanda Holden?” So it’s a juxtaposition, but they both know it’s definitely not easy. You need a hunger.’
‘There’s just no way my children would ever do a reality show,’ says Amanda. ‘Well, the youngest one might end up on Love Island, she’s a different kettle of fish. Certainly not Lexi, the eldest one’
Amanda with her friend Alan Carr. In 2023, the pair appeared on a show in which they renovated two rundown properties in Sicily they’d bought for one euro each, and they are just about to sign up for a new programme together
That hunger gets Amanda up and out at five o’clock in the morning to do the Heart breakfast show, but does her schedule keep her away from the family? ‘Well, no. At that time of the morning it only takes 40 minutes to get in to the studio. And I get out of the school run. I have a 14-year-old I’d rather not spend any time with in the morning! It’s my husband who has to tell her why she’s not wearing a push-up bra and bronzer to school.’
Amanda picks Hollie up at the end of the school day. ‘We’re three of us now Lexi is at university, so that’s a bit odd. But I’ve rescued loads more animals, so they’re all at the table.’ She has three dogs and two cats. ‘It feels like they’ve filled a hole.’
Amanda does the cooking at home. ‘I’m quite traditional in the way I like to have a family meal on the table most evenings,’ she says. ‘My mum and nan were both working mums, but they would still come home and do the dinner. I do the same. It’s really important to me. That’s my language of love.’
There is just one thing Amanda Holden demands in return: praise. ‘I say to my husband, “I slaved over this and no one has said it’s nice. I was up at five!”’ So even after all these years, having earned applause in so many different ways, she’s still looking for more at home? ‘Oh yeah. I definitely need some attention for making the tea!’
The Celebrity Inner Circle, hosted by Amanda Holden, returns to BBC1 on Saturday, September 12.
