Britain’s Got Talent returns to our screens tonight. The long-running show will air its eighteenth series with Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Toniol forming the judging panel.
The Heart Breakfast radio presenter is the longest-serving judge on the panel. She has been a judge since the show launched in 2007 and over the years has seen the faces that sit beside her change plenty of times, with Simon also being a constant on the show.
Amanda has been on our screen for decades and is regularly heard on the radio. Away from screens the TV star leads a quieter life, living in the village of Cobham in Surrey. Outside of BGT, people may remember Amanda in other roles including Wild at Heart, The Grimleys and Cutting It.
The 54-year-old grew up in a small medieval market town called Bishop’s Waltham, Hampshire. At school Amanda took an interest in acting and musical theatre. At age 16, she relocated to Bournemouth, before moving to South London to attend Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.
The first time Amanda appeared on screens was as a contestant on on the game show Blind Date in 1991. She was nineteen at the time and was looking for love. Appearing in a black mini dress with a blonde bob, Amanda told Cilla at the time that she’d like to have a “knees up” with Jack Nicholson. She also revealed at the time that she liked to experience a mature man.
In 1992 while they were both appearing in The Sound of Music, Amanda dated stage actor George Asprey. Three years later, she married comedian Les Dennis. Despite the large age gap of seventeen years, the couple seemed happy to the public. She was 23- years-old and he was 40.
The couple separated in 2000 after Amanda’s affair with actor Neil Morrissey became public and made headlines. They divorced in 2003 after a failed attempt of trying to save their marriage.
At the time of their split, Amanda shared a confession about their relationship and why she felt so ready to move on. She said: “I terribly want children but I didn’t want to have them with Les. That’s a horribly brutal thing to say, but when you do, you know you have to move on.”
She also addressed the affair. Amanda told Good Housekeeping in 2013: “If a woman has an affair, there is normally a problem in their marriage. Neil rightly or wrongly got loads of stick. I feel like it was my fault – I was the one who was married.”
Amanda now has two children she shares with husband Chris Hughes. She married the record producer in 2008 after the two met in Los Angeles in 2003, but they only started dating a year later after reuniting during London Fashion Week in 2004. They had a Christmas-themed wedding due to the December date, and had imitation snow and ivy all around the church.
The talent judge wore a stunning Elie Saab wedding dress that featured crystal embellishments in the form of flowers adorned over the bodice. The dress was in an unconventional champagne colour.
Amanda and Chris have two children together, Alexa, born 2006 and Hollie born 2012. They sadly lost their baby son, Theo, in February 2011, after he was stillborn at seven months. Discussing her personal life ahead of the latest series of Britain’s Got Talent, the Everton fan revealed that humour had been one of the main ways they had coped with difficult problems.
She said: “Chris and I have always been able to find humour in the darkness. He doesn’t dwell on drama. Sometimes people don’t get his humour and I’ll say to him, ‘Leave the room, you’re not reading it very well’.”
Further explaining: “There’s no wokery in our house. We don’t hold anything back, and we have strong opinions. We try to have a date night every Thursday when we go to the theatre or have dinner, or we lock the door and watch Netflix and the kids just have to do their own thing.”
The married couple live in an impressive Surrey home with their daughters. The property is said to be worth around £7 million, the TV star regularly shares photos of life inside her property and appears to be keen on interior designer.
She has styled most of the rooms in her home herself. The property features a huge pool, glam room and a walk-in-wardrobe. Amanda has described it as her “dream home”
Amanda has plenty of TV credits to her name and was once nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award. Her acting credits on television include early roles on The Grimleys (1998–2001), Kiss me Kate (1999–2001), Cutting It (2002–2004), Wild at Heart (2006–2008), and Big Top (2009).
In 2004, she played the title role in the musical stage show ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’ and received a Laurence Olivier award nomination for the part. As well as acting, Amanda has hosted many shows including Superstar (2012), This Morning (2014–2015, 2017) and Give a Pet a Home (2015).