In the 28 years since Amanda Holden’s first TV appearance as a contestant on Blind Date, she’s been a constant on our screens and become a household name in the process.
But it’s taken until 2019 for her to go truly stratospheric. She. Was Everywhere.
In the last 12 months Mandy’s given Katie Price a run for her (lack of) money in the headline grabbing stakes – and there’s not been a mucky mansion in sight.
There was plenty of other stuff though... in between the day jobs on Britain’s Got Talent and Heart Breakfast, she managed to squeeze in a high profile feud with her former This Morning co-host Phillip Schofield, a skydive, and more revelations than you could shake an NDA at.
Even a broken leg didn’t get in the way of her having the year of her life.
It really has been ridiculous...
Swearing
Amanda ended up dropping the F-bomb on this year’s Britain’s Got Talent after being seriously creeped out by The Haunting’s act. As she was led around a series of backstage areas, the act got more and more intense, leading to Amanda totally losing her cool and shouting “fuck” on the live show.
Despite the (inevitable) complaints, Mandy remained defiant. “No, I’ve not learnt my lesson,” she said at the time. “I’ve not washed my mouth out with soap either. I would defy anyone not to have sworn, they would have said worse than I did.”
Schofield
Amanda proved she had #nofilter when it came to all of those stories about her falling out with Phillip Schofield.
According to reports, the pair’s beef began in 2018, after Amanda was approached to fill in for Holly Willoughby on This Morning. Rochelle Humes eventually got the job though, after it was suggested that Phillip had influenced the decision - something he denied.
Amanda fuelled feud reports during a segment on her Heart Radio breakfast show, when her co-host Jamie Theakston put some quick-fire questions to her, which included asking Amanda which three things she’d least like to find in her home. “Spiders, flies...” Amanda began, before adding, “And Phillip Schofield.” Ouch.
Style
Amanda gets a bit of flack from certain quarters for her (incredible) outfits on Britain’s Got Talent, but is she bothered? Is she heck.
In fact, during this year’s series, she said she “loves it that people are still talking about my tired old breasts”, after a spider’s web-inspired number she wore on an episode of the ITV talent show prompted a small number of complaints to TV watchdog Ofcom.
Don’t go changing, Mandy.
Acting
It’s easy to forget that Amanda was a successful actress before she made judging people on BGT and presenting her full time job. In fact this year, Amanda revealed that she’d actually auditioned for not one, but two major movie roles.
First up, she was in the running to appear alongside Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in Die Another Day - a role that ultimately went to Rosamund Pike. She had previously revealed that she’d also missed out on the chance to play Elton John’s mother in Rocketman.
Oversharing
We’ve all done things that we probably shouldn’t have whilst three sheets to the wind - intentionally or not - but we don’t like to remind ourselves of any wrongdoings, let alone anyone else.
Not so Mandy.
During an appearance on Shopping With Keith Lemon over the summer, a typically unfiltered Amanda recalled the time she pooed her pants - and she didn’t hold back on the detail. “It felt like I had a small bollock in my pants. Like a warm, pooey bollock,” she (over)shared. “And then my then-boyfriend – this is how much he loved me – went home and he rinsed my knickers. That’s love isn’t it?” Wow.
Parping
Amanda had only been in her new job at Heart Breakfast for a matter of months before making herself a little too comfortable.
Mandy was enjoying a little dance in her seat during one of the radio shows when she let rip live on air. And to make matters worse, the whole thing – including the moment the presenter lifted her cheek to let one out – was caught on camera.
Still, at least Amanda had the decency to let her co-presenter Jamie Theakston and showbiz reporter Ashley Roberts know by mouthing “I’ve farted” to the pair before wafting the smell away. Charming.
Skydiving
If anyone can make jumping out of an aeroplane look glamorous, then Mandy can - and she did just that when she threw herself out of a plane at 10,000ft, all in the name of charity.
Amanda, who did the jump alongside her sister Debbie and her 69-year-old mother Judy, wasn’t even fazed by it all. “I felt like an alien,” she said at the time. “And I kept questioning why my fear didn’t kick in.”
Oh, and special mention needs to go to the incredible red latex jumpsuit Amanda donned to promote the challenge.
Fracture
Just weeks after Amanda successfully jumped out of a plane for charity unscathed, she buggered off on holiday with her family only to end up in hospital on day one.
The star had to have a metal plate fitted to her leg after she broke her fibula in two places when she lost her footing on a Total Wipeout-style inflatable assault course in the sea.
Tiles
In the celebrity consumer story that nobody saw coming, Amanda was accused of having a case of the don’t-you-know-who-I-ams by an employee at a tile company that she’d placed an order with.
After a mix-up with her order, Amanda contacted the firm, but ended up going public with how she’d been treated after she was told the company didn’t make exceptions “for celebrity status” by ‘Jack’ in the customer service team.
Things quickly got sorted on the tile front, but ‘Jack’ was less lucky. He got the sack.
Dr. Amanda Holden
As well as Rear Of The Year, Amanda can now add ‘Honorary Doctorate’ under her list of accomplishments on her CV.
The star was given the award by Peckham-based Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, where she trained, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the UK’s arts industry.
Accepting her award, she said: “I’m not claiming that our craft is the panacea for all ills, I’d never do that, mainly because I don’t know what panacea means, but from the beginning of time there has been a need for people to express themselves artistically – yes, we are the modern day equivalent of cave drawings, but that need is what allows the world to breathe, to take some time to interpret the chaos and, quite simply, to just experience some joy. As Picasso said, art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”