Amanda Holden talks home life: ‘I’d love my family to be the new Kardashians’

2023-04-12

The heels, the hair, the hemline – we’re definitely getting the full Glamanda Holden treatment today. “It’s my style mantra, I’m never knowingly understated,” she beams, settling down in a posh penthouse hotel suite. It’s these eye-popping looks that have turned Amanda ’s morning arrival at Heart Radio into a catwalk, with paps eager to snap whatever the presenter is – or is not – wearing that day.

“It does make me laugh what the press write,” she says, clearly not put out in the slightest. “I’m always ‘flaunting’ or ‘parading’ when I’ve got a miniskirt on. I’m like, ‘I’m not flaunting. I’m walking.’ The language in the stories is so weird. You know, ‘As she struts, braless, with her blonde tresses blowing in the wind…’”

There is one matter she’d like to put straight for the record, though. “I’m not braless. The fact is, I’m wearing SKIMS [bras], but my nipples are always affected by the cold. There’s nothing I can do about it. It’s like the Princess And The Pea – 20 mattresses down and you still see my nipples. They show through anything. They’re like my compass. Point away, I’ll never get lost.”

You can expect to see more of this irrepressibly cheeky humour in Amanda’s new Sky History show which she describes as “Horrible Histories for adults”. It covers the bedroom antics of everyone from Romans to Regency, and it sounds as though Amanda wishes she could have lived in the age of a saucy toga party herself. “We’ve gone backwards, not forwards. I think everyone was having a much nicer time. Nothing was off the table.”

While Amanda isn’t taking part in any of the reenactments herself – “I’m a family brand,” she clarifies – she did get to raid the dressing-up box as part of her presenting duties. “I dressed up as Marilyn Monroe, Queen Charlotte, Cleopatra…”

So did any of the costumes go home with her? She smiles, “Some of them. I do have the Marilyn Monroe one. That’s a date-night special.”

Speaking of her exotic outfits, you can expect to see plenty more of them over the coming weeks on Britain’s Got Talent. Amanda, 52, is now into her 16th year on the judging panel, and is clearly having a blast alongside Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon and newcomer Bruno Tonioli, who has replaced David Walliams. The Little Britain comic left after being caught making off-camera comments about contestants, but Amanda mentions him warmly when asked about the chemistry of the new panel.

“We miss David, obviously,” she says. “But Bruno has added a new dynamic. It’s nice having a different pair of eyes. He’d never seen it before so he didn’t know what he was doing. He is just a ball of energy.”

She’s also delighted to be reunited with Alesha. “We’re just on the same page for most things,” she says. “And every now and then, we’ll say, ‘Let’s have a sneaky G&T in the break, we’ll be fine.’ It’s normally towards the end of the show when we know we’re going home soon. We can’t be too unprofessional.”

As well as sharing a taste for a crafty tipple, the pair have the realities of mum life in common. Both have two daughters and know all about the delicate balance of work and fame. “We FaceTime the kids at the [judges] desk when it’s tea time, we bond over our guilt at not being there. We worry about all the same things – the homework, the exams. We’re just like any girlfriends,” she says.

And what about Mr Cowell? “I feel like Simon is back to his evil self, which is good because I’ve missed that,” she says. “I don’t like it when he gives everyone a second chance. I’m like, ‘Who are you?’ I prefer the bad Simon.” As long as he’s not bad to her, of course. Would he ever dare? “No. I know where the bodies are buried,” she laughs.

She also seems to know where the fountain of eternal youth is located, we can’t help but notice. “Thank you. But I don’t think about my age,” she says. “I feel happier now than I ever have. I just embrace what life brings me. I still feel really happy about how I look and I do everything I can to preserve it without being invasive.”

Part of her age-defying strategy involves Revive Collagen supplements [shop from £27.99 here], which she’s been taking for two years as a brand ambassador. “My hair is definitely thicker. My nails are better – they’ve stopped peeling – and my skin’s glowing. It’s become part of my routine. I have my sachet when I get ready for Heart, and I always shove one in my handbag because you can have it anywhere. It tastes nice.”

She’s also added a new non-invasive treatment to her beauty arsenal. “I’m a fan of EmFace,” she says. “It’s a muscle lifting machine, you just feel a fizz go through your skin and then you do an involuntary smile. I would 100% recommend.”

It actually sounds as though her face gets a better workout than the rest of her. “Davina has given me lots of 10-minute workouts, which I haven’t done yet,” she confesses. “She’s a goddess. I’m rubbish. All I do is run. But a run, listening to The Greatest Showman, is my way to spend 35 minutes and feel like I’m done. I can eat what I want, drink what I want. I feel happiest doing that.”

Keeping it real is very much part of the Amanda brand, especially on her social media. “I enjoy it because I’m myself on there. Being normal, that’s what people want now. Of course they want the glitz and the glam, but they mostly want to know about kids and cooking. My DMs are so nice.”

Is there any not-so-nice content in there, too? “What, naughty men? No. I think they know better. I’d expose them – literally. I’d be like, ‘OK, you want to play that game do you? Let the whole world see.’ I’ve said that so many times before they’re probably quivering in their pants.”

This sort of no-nonsense attitude is sure to come in handy for mum chats, especially with her 17-year-old daughter Lexi dipping a tentative toe into the world of showbiz. “She’s been out with me for a couple of events to get her used to it,” she says. “That’s what she wants to do. But she’s doing her A-levels so we’re mindful. She’s a clever girl, and she’s pretty, so it’s a good mix.”

Amanda and her record producer husband Chris Hughes, 69, who have another daughter, Hollie, 11, hope they will be able to deal with any parenting bumps in the road. “We’re parents that have seen and done most things,” she says. “So I think they’ll tell me if there’s something they need to talk about.”

After 14 years of marriage, Amanda says they are going from strength to strength. “We’re happier than ever. We’re not particularly romantic, but we are always present for each other. Chris is my backbone. He’s just The One.”

There’s one thing they don’t see eye to eye on, though, and that’s the idea of opening their family home to reality TV. “I would do it. Chris wouldn’t,” she says. “I’ve said, ‘Right, if they offered us millions to be the new Kardashians, would you do it?’ And he goes, ‘No’. It’s a shame. I always think we would be quite fun.”

Amanda Holden is the brand ambassador for luxury liquid collagen supplement brand Revive Collagen. See revivecollagen.com.

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