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Amanda Holden

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For the writer, see Amanda Holden (writer).

Amanda Holden
Holden in 2014
Born
Amanda Louise Holden

(1971-02-16) 16 February 1971 (age 53)
Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
Education
Occupations
  • Actress
  • media personality
Years active1991–present
Employers
AgentJames Grant[1]
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1995; div. 2003)​

Chris Hughes
​
(m. 2008)​
Websiteofficialamandaholden.com

Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971)[2] is an English actress and media personality. Since 2007, she has judged on the television talent show competition Britain's Got Talent on ITV. She currently co-hosts the Heart Breakfast radio show with Jamie Theakston on weekday mornings.

Holden played the title role in the musical stage show Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2004, for which she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award. Her acting credits on television include The Grimleys (1998–2001), Kiss Me Kate (1999–2001), Cutting It (2002–2004), Wild at Heart (2006–2008), and Big Top (2009). Holden has also presented various television shows for ITV, including The Sun Military Awards (2009–2014), Superstar (2012), This Morning (2014–2018), Text Santa (2015), and Give a Pet a Home (2015).

In 2013, Holden released her autobiography book, No Holding Back, which became a Sunday Times bestseller. She released her debut studio album, Songs from My Heart, in 2020.

Early life

Holden was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire[3] and spent much of her childhood in Bishop's Waltham, and aged nine she joined Bishop's Waltham Little Theatre Company. She attended Swanmore College. At 16 she moved to Bournemouth,[4][5] before moving to South London to attend Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.[6]

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.[7]

Holden's other TV credits include three series of the comedy Kiss Me Kate with Caroline Quentin and Chris Langham, three series of 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 Agatha Christie's Marple episode "4.50 From Paddington" opposite Geraldine McEwan and John Hannah. She co-starred with Bill Nighy and Tom Courtenay in Ready When You Are, Mr. McGill, a comedy drama by Jack Rosenthal. Holden is a judge on Britain's Got Talent along with Simon Cowell, David Walliams, and Alesha Dixon. She joined the show in 2006.

She has appeared on British series such as Smack the Pony, EastEnders, Hearts and Bones, and Cutting It.[8]

In 2009 Holden appeared as Lizzie, the Ring Mistress, in the BBC circus sitcom Big Top. In April 2009 it was reported the US network CBS had offered Holden a job as 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 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 as 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 to 8 April and on 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.

Holden in 2012

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. Christine Lampard stood in for Holden during this time, before the latter returned to the show from 2 March until 17 July 2015.[9] She returned to This Morning in 2017, to co-present numerous episodes with Ben Shephard.

Holden 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.[10]

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 the W television channel.[11][12] She appeared as Miss Pentangle in CBBC's The Worst Witch in 2017. Holden made a guest appearance in the Australian soap opera Neighbours as Harriet Wallace in 2022. She began filming for the show in London during October 2021.[13]

In 2021, she started appearing in a new comedy mockumentary series from Bo' Selecta! creator Leigh Francis. The programme was called The Holden Girls: Mandy & Myrtle and featured Francis in drag with heavy make-up as Amanda's nan Myrtle. The show launched on the E4 channel with 601,938 viewers and was repeated on Channel 4, gaining enough viewers to be recommissioned for a second series for 2022.[14]

Theatre

Holden has appeared in several stage musicals, and in 2004 was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in the West End production of Thoroughly Modern Millie,[8] which closed earlier than expected in June 2004.[15][16]

Holden finished playing the role 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.[17] 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.[18] In 2016 Holden starred in a West End revival of Stepping Out[19] and reprised her role when it opened at the Vaudeville Theatre in March 2017.[20]

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.

Radio

In April 2019 it was announced Holden would replace Emma Bunton as co-host of Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston, at the same time as it went national on 3 June.[21]

Music

In 2019 Holden signed a recording contract with Virgin EMI Records.[22] In 2020 she released her debut studio album, Songs from My Heart, through Universal Music.[23] It reached number four on the UK Albums Chart.

Other work

In July 2009 Holden became a gossip columnist for the News of the World.[24]

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

In October 2013 Amanda released her autobiography, No Holding Back,[25] which became a Sunday Times best-seller.[26]

In 2015 she was the new face of the Alpen Brighter Morning Challenge.[27]

Personal life

In 1992, while they were both appearing in The Sound of Music, Holden dated George Asprey.[28] She married the comedian Les Dennis in June 1995. The couple separated temporarily in 2000 after Holden's affair with actor Neil Morrissey[29] was the subject of press interest, before separating permanently in December 2002 and divorcing in 2003. Around this time, she alleged she was sexually assaulted by an "unnamed famous comedian" at a public event.[30]

In 2006, Holden gave birth to her first child, conceived with her fiancé, record producer Chris Hughes.[31] She married Hughes at Babington House,[32] 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.[33] In 2012, despite medical complications, she gave birth to their second daughter.[34]

As of 2018, Holden and Hughes live in Surrey.[35] Holden also owns a cottage in the Cotswolds which she has been renovating since 2017.[36][37]

In 2010, Holden campaigned to keep a Sainsbury's supermarket out of Bishop's Waltham. Residents of her hometown accused her of a double standard in November 2010 when she signed a deal to appear in advertisements for Tesco, a UK supermarket chain.[38]

In December 2016, Holden's ancestry was the subject of a BBC programme in the Who Do You Think You Are? series.[39] The investigation discovered that her Cornish 5x great-grandfather, Collin Thomas, served a year's imprisonment after breaking his apprenticeship as a cordwainer by enlisting in the Royal Navy and leaving the United Kingdom aged 15. Ten years later, while serving in the British Army after the Peninsular War, he met and married a French woman and began a family near Bordeaux, France, then moved his wife and eldest children back to Great Britain.[40] Holden also learned that her grandfather, Frank Holden, a psychiatric nurse, was aboard the RMS Lancastria when it was bombed by the German Luftwaffe in June 1940 outside the port of Saint-Nazaire and sank with the loss of thousands of lives.[41] Frank Holden died by suicide in his 70s.[42]

Holden has been a long-standing fan of English Premier League football club Everton, attending home and away games when her schedule allows.[43] She has been vegetarian since she was thirteen.[44]

She is a great niece of actress Jan Holden (1931–2005).[citation needed]

Charity work

Holden fronted Everton's breast-cancer-awareness campaign.[45] She is a patron of the football club's charity, Everton In the Community.[46] In September 2011, Holden was sponsored to bake a cake for every child in the Great Ormond Street Hospital.[47]

On 13 April 2008 Holden ran the London Marathon in 4 hours and 13 minutes, in the name of the Born Free Foundation,[48] having collected public and celebrity sponsors online. Since 2013, she has presented the RSPCA's Animal Hero Awards. Holden has raised money for Jeans for Genes and SSAFA via The Big Brew Up.[49][50]

In 2013 she became a celebrity ambassador for Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, following her work with Pedigree's 'Buy One, Feed One' campaign that she and fellow ambassador Paul O'Grady have been supporting together.[51]

In June 2018 Holden was photographed underwater by Zena Holloway.[52] She posed as a mermaid in an awareness campaign for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to highlight the "disgusting treatment" of orcas at SeaWorld. Holden has also posed nude for PETA in a campaign to promote vegetarianism.[53]

In 2020 Holden raised money for the National Health Service (NHS) during the COVID-19 pandemic.[54]

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1991 Blind Date Contestant
1993 In Suspicious Circumstances Alice Meadows Episode: "Falling Starr"
1994 EastEnders Carmen 5 episodes
1997 We Know Where You Live Various characters 12 episodes
The Bill Julia Episode: "Mr. Friday Night"
Thief Takers Camilla Barker Episode: "One Last Hurrah"
1998 Goodness Gracious Me Various characters 5 episodes
Jonathan Creek Petra 2 episodes: "The Problem at Gallows Gate: Parts 1 & 2"
Hale and Pace Girl 2
1998–2001 Kiss Me Kate Mel
1999 Smack the Pony Various characters 4 episodes
The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything Geordie's Girlfriend Television film
1999–2001 The Grimleys Geraldine Titley
2000 Happy Birthday Shakespeare Alice Television film
2000–2001 Hearts and Bones Louise Slaney 13 episodes
2001 The Hunt Sarah Campbell Television film
Now You See Her Jessica
2002 Celeb Debs Bloke 1 series (6 episodes)
2002 This Is Your Life Herself 1 episode
2002–2003 Top of the Pops 2 Guest presenter 5 episodes
2002–2004 Cutting It Mia Bevan Main role
2003 Greasemania Presenter
The National Music Awards 2003 Herself Television special
Ready When You Are, Mr. McGill Police Officer Television film
2004 Mad About Alice Alice Lead role; one series
French and Saunders Cordelia Lear 1 episode
Agatha Christie's Marple Lucy Eyelesbarrow Episode: "4:50 from Paddington"
2006–2008 Wild at Heart Sarah Trevanion Main role
2007–present Britain's Got Talent Judge Head Judge (2020)
2008 When Britain First Had Talent Herself Documentary
2009 Out of My Depth Trainee Midwife[55]
Big Top Lizzie 6 episodes
Bookaboo Herself Episode: "That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown"
2009–2014 A Night of Heroes: The Sun Military Awards Presenter Television special
2010 The Door Co-presenter Two-part celebrity series
Amanda Holden's Fantasy Lives Presenter Documentary series
A League of Their Own Guest presenter 3 episodes
2011 The Nation's Favourite Bee Gees Song Presenter Documentary
2012 Superstar One series
2014 Dispatches: Exposing Hospital Heartache Documentary
Celebrity Deal Or No Deal Contestant Celebrity edition; 1 episode
2014, 2016 Lorraine Guest presenter 9 episodes
2014–2015, 2017 This Morning Co-presenter Alongside Phillip Schofield
2015 Give a Pet a Home[56] Presenter One series
Text Santa Television Special
2016 I've Got Something To Tell You[12]
2017–2018 The Worst Witch Miss Pentangle[57]
2018 The Keith & Paddy Picture Show Herself Episode: "Pretty Woman"
2019 Plebs Rufina Episode: "The Banquet"
The Celebrity Apprentice Herself
Britain's Got Talent: The Champions Judge
2021 I Can See Your Voice
Eurovision Song Contest 2021 UK spokesperson Annual programme
The Holden Girls: Mandy & Myrtle Herself
2022 Neighbours Harriet Wallace 3 episodes

Guest appearances

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1996 Intimate Relations Pamela
1999 Don't Go Breaking My Heart Nurse
Virtual Sexuality Shoe shop assistant
2013 One Chance Herself / Judge Uncredited
2014 Pudsey the Dog: The Movie Sally the Dog Voice role

Television advertisements

Year Title Role Description
2010–2012 Tesco[58] Herself Supermarket chain
2012–present Danone Oykos Low-fat yoghurt
2015–present Alpen[59] Healthful granola

Theatre

Year Title Role Theatre/company
1999 The Sound of Music Liesl Von Trapp West End
2004 Thoroughly Modern Millie Millie Dillmount West End; Shaftesbury Theatre
2011 Shrek The Musical Princess Fiona West End; Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
2016–2017 Stepping Out Vera West End; Richmond Theatre, Vaudeville Theatre

Radio

Year Programme Channel Notes
2019–present Heart UK Breakfast with Jamie and Amanda Heart Weekday mornings

Discography

Albums

Singles

Bibliography

  • No Holding Back (autobiography)
  • The Curious Tale of Fi-Rex (novel) (co-writer)

References

  1. ^ "Amanda Holden". James Grant Group. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  2. ^ "College Days". The Guardian. 1 May 2001. Archived from the original on 28 January 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2018. Born February 16, 1971
  3. ^ "Amanda Holden on growing up in Bishop's Waltham, her charity work and her weakness for latte and cake". 10 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Britain's Got Talent star Amanda Holden comes home". Daily Echo. Southampton, UK. 7 November 2013. Archived from the original on 2 September 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  5. ^ Phillips, Bethan (20 December 2011). "Plaque Honour for Amanda Holden's Old Home". Daily Echo. Southampton, UK. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Amanda Holden awarded Honorary Doctorate at Mountview Graduation 2019". Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Biography - Official Amanda Holden Website". www.officialamandaholden.com. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Biography". Amanda Holden official website. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  9. ^ "Christine Bleakley and Amanda Holden return to ITV's This Morning to co-host with Phillip Schofield in 2015". ITV.com. 10 December 2014. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  10. ^ "ITV joins forces with the RSPCA for a brand new show, Give A Pet A Home, hosted by Amanda Holden". ITV.com. 5 March 2015. Archived from the original on 9 March 2015.
  11. ^ Bullimore, Emma (30 September 2016). "Amanda Holden has something to tell you about her new show: 'I love eavesdropping!'". What to Watch. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  12. ^ a b Fletcher, Harry (1 March 2016). "Amanda Holden to host I've Got Something to Tell You". Digital Spy.
  13. ^ Lee, Jess (7 October 2021). "Neighbours casts Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda Holden for special London storyline". Digital Spy. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  14. ^ "The Holden Girls 'Set to Return for Second Series' on E4". 3 December 2021.
  15. ^ Paddock, Terri (3 June 2004). "Thoroughly Modern Millie Posts Closing Notices". Whatsonstage.com. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  16. ^ "Modern Millie Cast Defends Holden???". Whatsonstage.com. 10 June 2004. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  17. ^ "Amanda Holden to star in Shrek musical". BBC News. 30 July 2010.
  18. ^ "Full List: 2012 Whatsonstage.com Award winners". Whatsonstage.com. 19 February 2012. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  19. ^ Cole, Emily (11 March 2016). "Amanda Holden to lead the cast of Stepping Out". Whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  20. ^ Packer, Chris (23 September 2016). "Amanda Holden and Tamzin Outhwaite in Stepping Out at the Vaudeville Theatre". Boxoffice.co.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  21. ^ "Join Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden for the All New Heart Breakfast". Heart. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  22. ^ Ingate, Kathryn (14 July 2019). "Amanda Holden revealed she is 'thrilled' to launch music career with HUGE record deal". Sunday Express. UK. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  23. ^ "Amanda Holden releases debut album Songs From My Heart". Heart. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  24. ^ 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.
  25. ^ Percival, Ash (7 November 2013). "Watch: Amanda Doesn't Hold Back". HuffPost UK.
  26. ^ "Brands: Amanda's Autobiography 'No Holding Back' - Official Amanda Holden Website". www.officialamandaholden.com. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  27. ^ "Welcome to Brighter Mornings with Amanda's Challene". Weetabix Ltd. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015.
  28. ^ Jim Maloney, Amanda Holden (Kings Road Publishing, 2011), p. 22
  29. ^ "Holden and Katharine marriage ends". BBC News. 27 December 2002. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  30. ^ Logan, Brian (15 October 2013). "Amanda Holden reveals sexual assault by 'famous comedian'". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  31. ^ "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.
  32. ^ Sunday Times, 10 January 2010.
  33. ^ Conner, Megan (24 March 2012). "This much I know: Amanda Holden". The Guardian.
  34. ^ Lockley, Hannah (2 June 2017). "Amanda Holden 'Tricked' Husband Into Having Another Baby Following The Tragedy Of Losing Their Son". Entertainmentwise.com. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013.
  35. ^ "We Were Stunned At Amanda Holden's Stunning Surrey Home". 30 May 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  36. ^ Best, Chloe (13 June 2018). "Take a peek inside Amanda Holden's 2 incredible Surrey and Cotswolds homes". HELLO!. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  37. ^ Best, Chloe (20 March 2020). "Amanda Holden's homes in Surrey and the Cotswolds: See photos". HELLO!. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  38. ^ Russell, Tara (4 November 2010). "Amanda Holden accused of double standards over Bishop's Waltham store plans". Daily Echo. Southampton, UK. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  39. ^ "Amanda Holden 'I'd love to find out about the kind of man he was'". BBC. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  40. ^ "Amanda Holden". Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  41. ^ O'Donovan, Gerard (December 2016). "Who Do You Think You Are? Amanda Holden's French forebears had talent, too: review". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  42. ^ Earnshaw, Jessica (2 December 2016). "Who do You Think You Are: Amanda Holden fans 'cry their hearts out' over grandad's suicide". Express.
  43. ^ Keegan, Simon (26 April 2015). "Everton's Got Talent as Amanda Holden proves to be the lucky charm". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  44. ^ Le Galle, Ruby (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.
  45. ^ "Pink Everton 07/08 Umbro charity football shirt". Footballshirtculture.com. 7 October 2007. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  46. ^ "Charity: Amanda becomes Patron of Everton Charity". officialamandaholden.com. 20 January 2016.
  47. ^ "Holden to bake charity cupcakes". Belfast Telegraph. 6 September 2011. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  48. ^ "Flora London Marathon – Amanda Holden Runs Wild for Born Free!!". Justgiving.com. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  49. ^ "Charity: Genes for Jeans Day - Official Amanda Holden Website". www.officialamandaholden.com. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  50. ^ "Charity: The Big Brew Up - Official Amanda Holden Website". www.officialamandaholden.com. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  51. ^ Hooper, Abi (13 September 2013). "Paul O'Grady and Amanda Holden team up in aid of rescue dog campaign with pedigree". Closer. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  52. ^ "Amanda Holden Goes Underwater To Protest SeaWorld". Femalefirst.co.uk. 1 June 2018.
  53. ^ "Charity: Amanda poses Nude to promote vegetarianism for PETA - Official Amanda Holden Website". www.officialamandaholden.com. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  54. ^ Rodger, James (1 May 2020). "Amanda Holden releasing debut single to raise money for NHS". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  55. ^ Viner, Brian (15 December 2009). "Last Night's Television – Life, BBC1; Out Of My Depth, ITV1". The Independent. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  56. ^ Rigler, Natasha (5 March 2015). "Amanda Holden to host TV that will transform celebs into RSCPA volunteers". Reveal. Archived from the original on 6 March 2015.
  57. ^ Lee, Ben (4 August 2016). "Amanda Holden will appear in The Worst Witch remake". Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  58. ^ Creevy, Jennifer (1 November 2010). "Tesco Christmas TV ad stars Amanda Holden". Retail Week.
  59. ^ "Alpen Campaign". officialamandaholden.com. 11 October 2015.
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