Ever since she cheekily bluffed her way onto Blind Date as a teen, Amanda Holden has been itching to take the reins of her very own dating show. Well three decades later, that wish is granted!
“I had a boyfriend!” Amanda chuckles as she reminisces about her stint on Blind Date at just 19 in 1990, despite being secretly smitten. “I was all loved up! But I’ve always wanted to do a relationship show. It has always been the dream.” Now 54, Amanda teams up with Celebs Go Dating’s guru Paul C Brunson, 50, for a fresh Netflix series titled Cheat: Unfinished Business.
This series dives into the messy lives of eight couples devastated by infidelity, ready to confront old ghosts and determine if there’s a path forward together.
With its spicy mix of flings and scandals, Cheat: Unfinished Business makes Blind Date seem positively genteel. But according to Amanda, that’s precisely why her project is a cut above.
“A dating show like Blind Date is fun,” Amanda asserts. “You get to witness those giddy early days, where it’s all excitement at the beginning of a love story.
My show digs deeper because it presents both sides of the coin, reminding us not to rush to judgment. The show promises an emotional rollercoaster filled with fear, tears, romance, and heartbreak.”
Amanda Holden has opened up about the past turmoil in her love life, including her marriage breakdown with Les Dennis after her affair with Neil Morrissey during a BBC filming project back in 2000.
Reflecting on the scandal years later, Amanda admitted to Good Housekeeping in 2013 that she felt responsible for the negative attention Neil received: “Neil rightly or wrongly got loads of stick. I feel like it was my fault – I was the one who was married,” she said.
“I want to change the general perception of him, as he was very caring and very loving and very worried about me because I lost so much weight. He used to cook for me and look after me and babysit the dogs.”
Nowadays, Amanda’s personal life is much more settled; she’s been happily married to Chris Hughes since 2008, and they have two daughters, Lexi and Hollie.
Amanda is also excited about the unique format of her new show, acknowledging how a love triangle can captivate audiences: “The topic [of cheating] is contentious, obviously, and difficult,” Amanda admits. “I think it makes for a more interesting theme. The show is not like anything else, it’s layered and it’s intelligent and it’s empathetic.”
The show doesn’t avoid the tough aspects of relationships, with counsellor Paul C Brunson guiding couples through their issues. Amanda found herself moved to tears watching the participants deal with infidelity.
“I did get emotionally involved, as you would expect,” Amanda revealed. “In the early days of filming, I was trying my best to not show too much, because when you’ve read the research on the couples that are taking part and then you see the body language and the tears and them trying to calm down.
All the vulnerabilities that humans go through when something like this happens… it’s hard not to be invested in that yourself. I was trying so hard not to give anything away, and then I just sort of let that go because it was a bit impossible for me.”
Despite her own affair being public knowledge, Amanda insists that infidelity touches nearly everyone at some point. “I think it’s a worldwide thing and I think everybody’s going to understand it,” she shared. “Everyone’s going to have somebody or something that they relate to.”
Witnessing the participants break down over gaslighting and infidelity was tough for both Amanda and Paul. “It was about getting questions answered and getting the truth out. Some were saying to their partners, ‘You make me feel like I’m going mad,'” Amanda recounted.
“They always knew that there was a truth to their feelings, but they felt like they were going nuts. For both men and women that were cheated on, getting to the truth was a relief.”