FOR a woman whose social media handle is “noholdenback”, it’s not surprising Amanda Holden isn’t afraid to say it how it is.
Which is how she found herself recently embroiled in an unlikely Twitter furore with another non-shrinking wallflower — Sharon Osbourne.
Six weeks on from their astonishing to-do — over Amanda’s boss and friend Simon Cowell, who Sharon had slagged off — the BGT star has offered a botanical olive branch to her elder rival… in the form of an Aperol Spritz.
She says: “I really wasn’t expecting it to all blow up the way it did, but I also can’t explain how much it didn’t bother me at all, either.
“I was just sticking up for a friend and I know Sharon would stick up for a friend too. I would do it all again. And honestly, I wasn’t fazed.
“Sharon’s a tough cookie who’s a survivor in this industry, and I look up to her. We have a lot in common, and I know she likes me and I like her.
“I will have a glass of Aperol with her one day. I have to say, I didn’t actually read it [Sharon’s tirade].
“My husband Chris started reading it out and he turned and said to me: ‘The first line says ‘you’re beautiful and successful…’ and I cut him off, and said, ‘All right, stop there, stop there!’
“I’m sure I will see her again soon. And we will laugh about it.”
The now infamous rant, posted on X on April 13, included waspish lines from Sharon such as: “The truth is, you don’t know me, Amanda.
“You know nothing about my history in the music industry, my achievements, the artists I have worked with, the shows that I’ve produced, and my global celebrity.
“Unlike you, the brand of Sharon Osbourne is known worldwide. Our worlds are totally different.”
Amanda, until now, has remained staunchly silent.
On the afternoon of the former X Factor judge’s rant — in which Sharon also casually humble-bragged she’d spent most of her ITV wages on “handbags” — Amanda instead posted a breezy Instagram story of an Aperol Spritz.
“I’d probably bleed orange if you cut me,” she adds today, speaking from her new Surrey mansion.
Because, despite the gruelling 16- hour days, Amanda — Mandy to friends and family — likes a tipple.
Not in an Oliver Reed way, but in a suitably showbiz way. (“The number of times I talk about Aperol, I can’t believe I haven’t been offered a deal with them”. Over to you, guys).
Amanda Holden is, without doubt, the most showbizzy woman I’ve ever met. Although her current working conditions aren’t, perhaps, up to her usual exacting standards.
“We are all in these basic dressing rooms under the Hammersmith flyover with toilets which we share with everyone,” she harrumphs.
“I went in the other day and nearly had to paddle in and hold my breath . . . I’m not sure if it was bleach or wee all over the floor, but all I do know is that I can never wear my Uggs again. It is so rank.
I’d probably bleed orange if you cut me
“They put in a fridge with bubbles and a coffee machine — that’s my rider obviously — and I’ve whacked in a couple of Yucca plants to try to make it all look better.
“But no Yucca plant can disguise the bowels of the Hammersmith flyover.”
Amanda lives and breathes the industry and, at 53, has never been more in demand.
On the eve of the Britain’s Got Talent final, the sleep-deprived star — she averages five-and-half hours a night — remains as giddy as ever about one of her most lucrative earners.
She also defends accusations that Britain, in fact, Has No Talent, after it emerged that almost half of the semi- finalists weren’t actually, er, British.
Instead, this year’s show, which has racked up over four billion online views, is flooded with performers from Japan, Italy and South Korea.
I really wasn’t expecting it to all blow up the way it did
Amanda Holden
“I love this show, and this series and it’s been so fun,” she smiles.
“We are a family, a world family. The franchise is across 56 countries worldwide, so of course people are going to audition for other shows.
“Other judges have judged other shows abroad — Alesha (Dixon) has done America’s Got Talent, for example — so why can’t we have international acts?
“It’s a big global family, so I really embrace it and I especially love the mad Japanese acts which feel typically, eccentrically British in a lot of ways.
“I think we have enough British people to even it out.”
In two weeks time, Amanda will be up and running again, this time filming in Majorca for the initial series of her new Netflix show, Cheaters: Unfinished Business.
It features couples who have been torn apart by one cheating party.
She credits her mum and nan for her relentless work ethic.
Famously, the Wild at Heart star started her fledgling showbiz career on Cilla Black’s Blind Date, as a contestant.
She said: “I’m so happy to be doing what I manifested, and it’s a brilliant opportunity.
“I love the idea of giving people second chances and forgiving and moving on is a brilliant concept.
“I’m not judgey and I’m quite sympathetic, but I’m also a ball-buster, so I feel I will ask all the right questions but also be ready for a cuddle for anyone who needs it. If it works, then it will definitely be global . . . and if it doesn’t, I won’t be doing my food shop for a few weeks.”
Sharon’s a tough cookie who’s a survivor in this industry, and I look up to her
Amanda Holden
So how muggle-like IS Amanda Holden, really?
“I go to Waitrose, I hoover, I scrub the stairs, I leaf blow, I do everything!”, she insists.
“I can’t sit still. I probably have OCD, but it keeps the house tidy.”
In the flesh, Amanda appears to be ageing backwards. It’s annoying.
Her diet of running, Aperol, occasional yoga and no sleep is a medical miracle.
She is, though, a big fan of high-tech beauty treatments with her celebrity facialist, Nilam Patel (who also does Amanda’s Cotswolds neighbour, Victoria Beckham).
There’s not much she hasn’t tried in the name of aesthetic facials.
Her latest experiment, she says, is a thing called Age Jet, a heat energy treatment to tighten skin.
We’ve both tried EMFace — which makes users look like they’re having a stroke — and Morpheus8, described as the most painful beauty procedure in the world.
She refuses to go under the knife and visibly blanches when I mention considering a “mini facelift”.
Amanda, who says she’d love to return to her acting roots in the next few years, has repeatedly been asked to appear on the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special.
Alas, her hectic schedule has meant that, to date, it’s not been possible.
I feel I don’t tolerate any animosity or bitching, and I’ve collected friends on most jobs I’ve done
Amanda Holden
Conveniently, this leads us on to our next topic — Strictly’s Giovanni Pernice.
The dancer has come under fire over his reported “brutal” training methods, which have resulted in legal action from his former dance partners.
Gio dated Amanda’s Heart radio co-star Ashley Roberts, so does she have any skin in the game?
Or has she ever experienced similar treatment during a sterling career spanning over 25 years?
“I don’t know him at all but, obviously, Ashley went out with him,” she replies.
“But that was when she was new to Heart and I didn’t really know her so well then.
“In my experience, in this industry, I’ve not come across anything like what I’m reading about him.
“I would say I’ve always been able to hold my own against things that might be testing.
“But I’ve never experienced any real aggression. The balance is getting better. I think a lot of women are very strong in this industry and not afraid to be heard.
“That’s really positive and I’d like to think it will become a thing of the past but there is always going to be a battle.
“I feel I don’t tolerate any animosity or bitching, and I’ve collected friends on most jobs I’ve done. I don’t really tolerate disrespect and s***bags, really — and I call them in on it if I do.”
You see? No Holden back.
Joker face Si
ANT McPartlin and Declan Donnelly pranked Simon Cowell after he signed up for TikTok.
The BGT hosts, both 48, congratulated him in the studio on Friday.
Ant filmed him as part of “a proper good welcome” but the head judge, 64, was unaware they had applied a face distorting filter.
The pair posted: “Nothing to see here, we’re just helping Simon Cowell promote his new TikTok. It’s what any true friend would do.”
Sydnie gives heels the boos
SINGER Sydnie Christmas says she will be giving high heels the boot for tonight’s Britain’s Got Talent final — to avoid falling over.
The gym receptionist, 28, from Dartford, Kent, who wowed the judges with her version of My Way, feels that it is vital she feels happy in her outfit when she goes on stage.
She said: “I think it’s important to perform in something I feel comfortable in, otherwise I won’t sing like me.
“If you put me in a dress and heels, I wouldn’t feel at home. I’m clumsy and I would stack it on stage.”
