Amanda Holden

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This article is about the actress. For the librettist, see Amanda Holden (writer).

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**Amanda Louise Holden** (born 16 February 1971) is an English television presenter, actress and singer, best known as a judge on ITV's *Britain's Got Talent* since the show began in 2007.

Holden played the role of Sarah Trevanion in *Wild at Heart* (2006–2008) and the title role in *Thoroughly Modern Millie*, for which she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award. More recently she has presented various television shows for ITV including *Superstar* (2012), *This Morning* (2014–) and *Give a Pet a Home* (2015).

## Early life

Although born in Portsmouth, Holden spent much of her childhood in Bishop's Waltham and aged 9 she joined Bishop’s Waltham Little Theatre Company. She attended Swanmore Secondary School (now Swanmore College), where a teacher recalled that she had a natural talent on stage. At 16 she moved to Bournemouth, and then attended Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts).

## Career

### Television

Holden's first television appearance was as a contestant on the game show *Blind Date* in 1991.

From 2006 to 2008, Holden appeared as Sarah Trevanian in three series of ITV's *Wild at Heart* co-starring Stephen Tompkinson.

Holden's other TV credits include three series of the comedy *Kiss Me Kate* with Caroline Quentin and Chris Langham, three series of the ITV's *The Grimleys*, *Celeb* with Harry Enfield, BBC series *Hearts and Bones* with Damian Lewis, the Jonathan Creek episode "The Problem at Gallowes Gate" and a Boxing Day special *Marple* opposite Geraldine McEwan and John Hannah. She also co-starred with Bill Nighy and Tom Courtenay in *Ready When You Are, Mr McGill*, Jack Rosenthal's comedy drama.

Holden is currently a judge on *Britain's Got Talent* along with Simon Cowell, David Walliams and Alesha Dixon. She joined the show in 2007 and this is her best known role.

She has appeared on various British series such as *Smack the Pony*, *EastEnders*, *Hearts and Bones*, *Cutting It* and with Harry Enfield in comedy series *Celeb*.

In 2009, Holden appeared as Lizzie, the Ring Mistress in the BBC sitcom *Big Top*. In April 2009, it was reported that the US network CBS had offered Holden the job of one-time guest presenter on *The Early Show*, a daytime talk show. On 1 June 2009, she appeared with regular presenters Harry Smith and Maggie Rodriguez. Holden has since signed up with CBS as a British correspondent for *The Early Show*.

From 2009 until 2014, Holden co-presented *A Night of Heroes: The Sun Military Awards* annually on ITV with Phillip Schofield. In January 2010, she presented her own four-part series, *Amanda Holden's Fantasy Lives*, in which she tried out four of her dream jobs including working as a showgirl in Paris and a magician's assistant in Las Vegas.

In 2010, Holden co-presented *The Door* with Chris Tarrant. In 2011, Holden narrated the documentary *The Nation's Favourite Bee Gees Song* on ITV. On 6 July 2012, Holden guest presented an episode of *Lorraine*, standing in for Lorraine Kelly. She returned to guest present six further episodes of the show from 4–8 April and 4 July 2016.

In 2012, Holden presented talent show *Superstar* on ITV. On 24 March 2014, she hosted an episode of the Channel 4 show *Dispatches* about the treatment for stillbirths and miscarriages.

From 22 September to 18 December 2014, Holden filled in as a co-host on *This Morning* with Phillip Schofield during Holly Willoughby's maternity leave. She took a short break in January and February 2015 to record the *Britain's Got Talent* auditions before returning to the show from 2 March until 17 July 2015.

Amanda presented a six-part factual series for ITV called *Give a Pet a Home* which worked alongside the RSPCA finding homes for animals. The series aired in April and May 2015.

On 18 December 2015, Holden was part of the presenting team for ITV's Christmas telethon *Text Santa*. In 2016, she presented *I've Got Something to Tell You*, a factual series for W.[*citation needed*]

### Theatre

Holden has appeared in several stage musicals and in 2004, was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in the West End production of *Thoroughly Modern Millie*, which closed earlier than expected in June 2004.

Holden finished playing the role of Princess Fiona in the original West End production of *Shrek the Musical*, which began on 6 May 2011. The show opened at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 14 June 2011. She starred with Nigel Lindsay, Richard Blackwood and Nigel Harman. Holden departed the show on 3 October 2011, ten weeks earlier than planned, to focus on her unborn child and was replaced by Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh. For this role, Holden won the WhatsOnStage.com Theatregoers' Choice Award for Best Actress in a Musical. In 2016, Holden starred in a West End revival of *Stepping Out* and will reprise her role when it officially opens at the Vaudeville Theatre in March 2017.

### Film

In 1996, Holden played Pamela in *Intimate Relations*. In 1999, she appeared as a shoe shop assistant in *Virtual Sexuality*. She was uncredited in the 2013 film *One Chance*.

### Other work

In July 2009, Holden became a gossip columnist for the News of the World.

From 2010 until 2012, Holden appeared in television commercial adverts for supermarket chain Tesco. Since 2012, she has appeared in the television commercial adverts for Danone Oykos low fat yoghurt.

In October 2013, Amanda released her autobiography called *No Holding Back* which became a *Sunday Times* best-seller.

In 2015, she was the new face of the Alpen Brighter Morning Challenge.

## Personal life

She married comedian Les Dennis in June 1995. They had a temporary split in 2000 when Holden's affair with actor Neil Morrissey was exposed in the press, before eventually separating in December 2002 and divorcing in 2003. Around this time, she alleges that she was sexually assaulted by an "unnamed famous comedian" at a public event. Amanda has been vegetarian since she was thirteen.

On 20 January 2006, Holden gave birth to her first child with her fiancé, record producer Chris Hughes. She married Hughes at Babington House, Somerset, on 10 December 2008 with former Formula One racing driver David Coulthard acting as best man. After a miscarriage in 2010, she suffered their son being stillborn at seven months in 2011. On 23 January 2012 she gave birth to their second daughter despite medical complications.

Holden campaigned to keep a Sainsbury's supermarket out of Bishop's Waltham. Residents of her hometown later accused her of a double standard in November 2010 when she signed a deal with Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket chain.

In December 2016 Holden's ancestry was the subject of a BBC programme in the *Who Do You Think You Are?* series. The investigation revealed that her 5x great-grandfather Colin Thomas served a year's imprisonment, after breaking his apprenticeship as a cordwainer, by enlisting in the Royal Navy aged 15. Ten years later, while serving in the British Army after the Peninsular War, he met and married a Frenchwoman and began a family near Bordeaux in South Western France, before then moving his wife and eldest children back to his home in Cornwall. In addition, it transpired that her grandfather Frank Holden, a psychiatric nurse, was aboard the RMS Lancastria, when it was bombed and sunk by the German Luftwaffe in June 1940 outside the port of Saint-Nazaire and sank with the loss of thousands of lives. He committed suicide at the age of 71.

### Charity

Holden fronted Everton's breast cancer awareness campaign, sporting a limited edition baby pink club shirt, the colour of breast cancer awareness. In September 2011, Holden was sponsored to bake a cake for every child in the Great Ormond Street Hospital.[*citation needed*]

On 13 April 2008, Holden ran the London Marathon in 4 hours and 13 minutes, in the name of the Born Free Foundation, having collected public and celebrity sponsors online.

In 2013, she became a celebrity ambassador for Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, following her work with Pedigree's 'Buy One, Feed One' campaign that she, along with Paul O'Grady have been supporting together. O'Grady is also an ambassador for Battersea.

## Filmography

Television

Guest appearances

* *Blind Date* (1991)
* *Goodness Gracious Me* (1998)
* *Don't Go Breaking My Heart* (1998)
* *Smack the Pony* (1999)
* *Happy Birthday Shakespeare* (2000)
* *Loose Women* (2000, 2002, 2013)
* *Now You See Her* (2001)
* *Alan Carr: Chatty Man* (2009, 2012, 2013, 2014)
* *The Paul O'Grady Show* (2009, 2013)
* *The One Show* (2009, 2013)
* *Ant & Dec's Christmas Show* (2009)
* *Magic Numbers* (2010)
* *The Graham Norton Show* (2010, 2013, 2014, 2015)
* *The Alan Titchmarsh Show* (2011, 2013)
* *Paul O'Grady Live* (2011)
* *The Talent Show Story* (2012)
* *Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway* (2013)
* *Compost Corner: Christmas Special* (2013)
* *The One and Only Cilla Black* (2013)
* *Up Late with Rylan* (2016)
* *Who Do You Think You Are?* (2016)
* *Alan Carr's Happy Hour* (2016)

Film

Television advertisements

 2012—
 2015—

## References

1. ↑ James Grant Archived 23 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine
2. ↑ "findmypast.co.uk". Search.findmypast.co.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
3. ↑ "Britain's Got Talent star Amanda Holden comes home (From Daily Echo)". *Daily Echo*. Southampton. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
4. ↑ "Plaque Honour for Amanda Holden's Old Home (From Daily Echo)". *Daily Echo*. Southampton. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
5. ↑ Mountview Academy alumni. Retrieved 26 May 2016
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Amanda Holden Biography". officialamandaholden.com. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
7. ↑ "Christine Bleakley and Amanda Holden return to ITV's This Morning to co-host with Phillip Schofield in 2015 | presscentre". Itv.com. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
8. ↑ "ITV joins forces with the RSPCA for a brand new show, Give A Pet A Home, hosted by Amanda Holden". *"ITV Press Centre"*.
9. ↑ "Thoroughly Modern Millie Posts Closing Notices". whatsonstage.com. 3 June 2004. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
10. ↑ "Modern Millie Cast Defends Holden???". whatsonstage.com. 10 June 2004. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
11. ↑ "Amanda Holden to star in Shrek musical". BBC News. 30 July 2010.
12. ↑ "Full List: 2012 Whatsonstage.com Award winners". Whatsonstage.com. 19 February 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
13. ↑ "Amanda Holden to lead the cast of Stepping Out". whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
14. ↑ "Amanda Holden and Tamzin Outhwaite in Stepping Out at the Vaudeville Theatre - Boxoffice.co.uk". boxoffice.co.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
15. ↑ Hyde, Marina (7 July 2011). "Did the News of the World target Amanda Holden before giving her a job?". *The Guardian*. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
16. ↑ "Welcome to Brighter Mornings with". *alpenmornings*. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Unknown parameter `|dead-url=` ignored (`|url-status=` suggested) (help)
17. ↑ "Holden and Katharine marriage ends". BBC News. 27 December 2002. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
18. ↑ Brian Logan (15 October 2013). "Amanda Holden reveals sexual assault by 'famous comedian' | Stage". *The Guardian*. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
19. ↑ Ruby Le Galle (26 May 2016). "Amanda Holden: 'The Best Thing You Can Do for Animals Is to Just Leave Them off Your Plate'". *People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals*. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
20. ↑ "Amanda's Baby Named Already". *Sky Living*. Sky (United Kingdom). 23 January 2006. Archived from the original on 24 January 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
21. ↑ *Sunday Times*, 10 January 2010.
22. ↑ Megan Conner. "This much I know: Amanda Holden". *The Guardian*.
23. ↑ Amanda Holden 'Tricked' Husband Into Having Another Baby Following The Tragedy Of Losing Their Son Archived 15 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
24. ↑ Russell, Tara (4 November 2010). "Amanda Holden accused of double standards over Bishop's Waltham store plans". Southampton: Daily Echo. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
25. ↑ "Who Do You Think You Are? programme". *BBC*. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
26. ↑ "Feature article on TheGenealogist.co.uk". *TheGenealogist*. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
27. ↑ "Who Do You Think You Are? Amanda Holden's French forebears had talent, too: review". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
28. ↑ "Pink Everton 07/08 Umbro charity football shirt". Footballshirtculture.com. 7 October 2007. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
29. ↑ "Flora London Marathon – Amanda Holden Runs Wild for Born Free!!". Justgiving.com. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
30. ↑ Hooper, Abi (13 September 2013). "Paul O'Grady and Amanda Holden team up in aid of rescue dog campaign with pedigree | Showbiz". *Closer*. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
31. ↑ "Amanda Holden to host TV that will transform celebs into RSCPA volunteers". *Reveal*.
32. ↑ Harry Fletcher (1 March 2016). "Amanda Holden will get big confessions out of ordinary people on I've Got Something to Tell You". *Digital Spy*.
33. ↑ "Amanda Holden will appear in The Worst Witch remake". digitalspy.com. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
34. ↑ "Tesco Christmas TV ad stars Amanda Holden". *Retail Week*.

## External links

* Amanda Holden's Official website
* Amanda Holden's Twitter page
* Amanda Holden on IMDb