Who is Amanda Holden?
Amanda Holden is a British TV personality, actress, singer, and author. She is well known as one of the judges of the ITV show “Britain’s Got Talent” (BGT). Holden has been a judge on the talent show since 2007, alongside Alesha Dixon and Simon Cowell. As an actress, some of her notable films include “Jonathan Creek” (1997), “Marple” (2004), and “Wild At Heart” (2006).
Amanda Holden’s full name is Amanda Louise Holden. She was born on February 16, 1971, in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Amanda is 52 years old as of November 2023. The author cum singer spent most of her childhood days in Bishop Waltham, joining Bishop Waltham Little Theatre Company at age 9. Holden attended Swanmore College, after which she proceeded to Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in South London.
About Amanda Holden’s parents
Amanda Holden was born as the oldest of two daughters to Frank Holden (father) and Judith Mary Harrison (mother). Amanda had described her father as a heavy drinker who left the family when she was just 4 years old. She wrote about him in her 2013 autobiography titled “No Holding Back”.
She wrote:
“When he was home [he] spent all his available cash on booze and he was only focused on where his next drink was coming from. Not only that, but he was impossible to live with in every way. He would leave home for hours at a time, often staying out all night and returning drunk the next day”.
Amanda Holden also shared that her mother got married to another man named Leslie Collistor after her biological father abandoned them. The TV personality further revealed that both her mother and stepfather starred as extras in films and TV shows like “Poldark”.
Amanda Holden seems to share a great bond with her parents. For instance, she broke the lockdown rules in 2020 when she travelled miles to see them in their home in Cornwall after receiving a distress call from her stepfather.
About Amanda Holden’s sister
Amanda Holden’s only sibling is her younger sister, Deborah “Debbie” Holden. Debbie was born in 1972 and she is 51 years old as of November 2023. Amanda’s only sister is a production and HR manager. She also works as a diving instructor in Thailand.
Amanda Holden described her look-alike sister Debbie as an “outdoors type” after she survived an earthquake in Nepal in 2015. Debbie was also involved in a life-threatening car accident the following year. Further detailed information about Amanda’s sister is scarcely available in the media as she seems to be living a quiet life in contrast to her sister’s famous lifestyle.
About Amanda Holden’s ancestry
Amanda Holden’s ancestry became a topic of interest in the media after it was aired on the BBC TV series titled “Who Do You Think You Are” in 2016. A study revealed that Amanda’s 5x Cornish great-grandfather, Colin Thomas, was an ex-convict. He was imprisoned for a year after he abandoned his shoe-making apprenticeship to enlist in the Royal Navy at age 15. Amanda also learned that she has French roots from her 5x great-grandmother.
On the TV show, Amanda Holden also traced her paternal grandfather, Frank Holden Sr. According to her discovery, he was a psychiatric nurse and was aboard the RMS Lancastria which the German Luftwaffe bombed in 1940 during World War II. Although Amanda’s grandfather survived the incident, he reportedly committed suicide afterwards.
About Amanda Holden’s marriage and wedding
As of the time of publishing this article (November 2023), Amanda Holden is married to her husband, British record producer Chris Hughes. However, she was first married for about 8 years to English comedian Les Dennis. Amanda Holden and Les Dennis married in 1995, separated for a while in 2000, and got back together the following year. The now estranged couple split again in 2002, before finally divorcing in 2003.
Amanda Holden took the marital vows again in 2008 with Chris Hughes, 5 years after she divorced her first husband. As of 2023, she has been married to Chris for 15 years and their union is blessed with 2 daughters. Unlike Amanda Holden’s first marriage, there has not been any form of scandal or glitch in her relationship with Chris Hughes.
About Amanda Holden’s first marriage to Les Dennis
Les Dennis is an English comedian, TV presenter, and stage actor. Born on October 12, 1953, Les is 70 years old as of 2023. He is the third host of the TV show “Family Fortunes” (1987 – 2002). Dennis also appeared in the second series of the UK celebrity Big Brother, finishing as a runner-up. He was part of a comedy duo with the late comedian Dustin Gee.
Amanda Holden and her ex-husband Les Dennis married in June 1995. The ex-couple had an on-and-off relationship for 8 years before calling it quits in 2003. They separated for the first time in 2001 after 5 years of marriage because of Amanda’s infidelity. The BGT judge had an affair with actor Neil Morrissey while she was married to Les. However, the former couple patched things up and got back together in 2001. Unfortunately, they couldn’t continue with the marital journey as they officially divorced in 2003. Amanda Holden and her first husband, Les Dennis, did not have any children together.
Speaking about her failed marriage with Les, Amanda revealed that she never wanted to have kids with the English comedian.
In her words:
“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. I found the fall from grace incredibly hard to deal with. I can’t bear not to be liked. Then I had an affair and overnight turned into this awful person. There are no hard feelings with Les. I wish him the best, but we’ve both moved on …”
In June 2023, Les also spoke about Amanda in an interview with The Sunday Times. Les disclosed that he is happy for her as he is over what happened between them.
He said:
“Amanda was in the papers recently, saying some nice things about me. That was very kind of her. Maybe with time she has been able to look back and see things differently. We’re not in touch but I am happy that she’s happy. I can watch Britain’s Got Talent without getting angry. To be honest, it’s like watching a different person, someone I’ve never met. All the hurt that has happened has been healed”.
About Amanda Holden’s marriage to Chris Hughes
Chris Hughes is a British record producer and former director of the YMU talent agency. He is an ex-drummer for the music group, “Adam and the Ants,” which earned him the nickname “Merrick”. Hughes is famous for doing behind-the-scenes work with groups such as “Tears for Fears.” The record producer was born on March 3, 1954, in London, England. He is 69 years old as of November 2023. Amanda Holden’s husband is sometimes mistaken for “Love Island” star Christopher Hughes because of the similarity in their names.
Holden and Chris first met in Los Angeles in 2003 and started dating the following year. They got married in December 2008 at Babington House, Somerset, with former Formula One racing driver, David Coulthard, serving as Hughes’s best man.
The TV personality seems to be enjoying every bit of her relationship with Chris. Speaking about her husband, Amanda Holden told HELLO! in 2019:
“Chris is very funny and errs on the side of lightness. We can make jokes out of any situation throughout the best and darkest times of our lives. He’s rubbish at romance, but he’s there for the solid things – such as keeping my car clean and making sure I relax. He’s a proper bloke who looks after me. I’m a strong, opinionated woman, but he helps steer the Mandy ship”.
List of Amanda Holden’s past relationships and boyfriends
According to reports gathered by DNB Stories, Amanda Holden has been involved in two other relationships aside from her marriages. She reportedly had an affair with actor Neil Morrissey while still married to Les Dennis. Holden also dated British actor George Asprey before her marriage to Les.
Below is a list of Amanda Holden’s past relationships and boyfriends:
a. Amanda Holden and George Asprey (1992)
Amanda Holden dated British actor George Asprey in 1992, while they both starred in The Sound of Music. Her relationship with George is her first publicly known affair. However, the details of their romance are scarce in the media as of the time of writing.
b. Amanda Holden and Neil Morrissey (2000)
Amanda Holden and British actor Neil Morrissey secretly dated for about 5 weeks in 2000. Holden met Neil on the set of the comedy-drama film “Happy Birthday Shakespeare.” Their affair allegedly led to the end of her first marriage to Les Dennis. Reports also had it that Neil was in a relationship with actress Rachel Weisz as of then.
Speaking about her affair with Morrissey, Amanda shared that she doesn’t “believe women have affairs for no reason.”
She explained:
“I don’t believe women have affairs for no reason. Neil rightly or wrongly got loads of stick. I feel like it was my fault – I was the one who was married. I want to change the general perception of him, as he was very caring and very loving and very worried about me because I lost so much weight. He used to cook for me and look after me and babysit the dogs”.
However, Neil Morrissey took responsibility and apologized to Les Dennis for cheating with his former wife.
In his words:
“I feel sorry for how the situation was dealt with and I feel sorry for how emotional Les seemed to become. It was very difficult for him and for that I’m very sorry”.
Amanda Holden’s children
As of the time of publishing this article (November 2023), Amanda Holden and her husband, Chris Hughes, have two daughters. Their first daughter’s name is Alexa Louise Florence Hughes, while their second daughter is Hollie Rose Hughes.
According to reports, Amanda Holden had suffered a miscarriage after the birth of her first daughter in 2010. She would later have a premature stillborn son named Theo in 2011. Amanda’s late son was born at 7 months. The actress reportedly suffered complications while giving birth to her second daughter in 2012.
List of Amanda Holden’s children
- Alexa Louise Florence Hughes
- Hollie Rose Hughes
Here is everything to know about Amanda Holden’s two daughters:
a. Alexa Louise Florence Hughes
Alexa Louise Florence Hughes is the first child of Amanda Holden and Chris Hughes. She was born on January 21, 2006, about two years before her parents’ marriage. Amanda Holden’s first daughter is 17 years old as of November 2023. The young lady seems to follow in her mother’s footsteps in show business. She reportedly signed a deal with Storm Management, the British model agency that discovered supermodel Kate Moss.
b. Hollie Rose Hughes
Hollie Rose Hughes is the second child of Amanda Holden and Chris Hughes. They had her in 2012 after Amanda suffered a miscarriage and a stillborn. Hollie is 11 years old as of 2023. Her mother reportedly suffered severe complications during her birth. According to reports, Amanda couldn’t see her daughter until 3 days later. She reportedly lost a lot of blood, while the doctors put Hollie on a respirator due to breathing difficulties at birth.
The actress cum author admitted that her usage of Botox had contributed to the complications she experienced during Hollie’s birth and she had to stop it after then. According to her, she had not had any invasive procedures since she had the terrible birth experience.
