Amanda Louise Holden (born February 16, 1971 in Bishop's Waltham, Hampshire)is an English actress. She made her television debut as a contestant on the long-running ITV series, Blind Date, but she didn't get picked.
Amanda trained at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. Her first television role was in the BBC soap opera EastEnders in 1994, but she is perhaps best known for playing Mia Bevan in the BAFTA Award nominated drama series Cutting It from 2002 to 2004.
She married television presenter Les Dennis in 1995, but separated from him following her affair with actor Neil Morrissey. These events made her a popular target for the British tabloid press. The couple were divorced on 18 November 2003.
Amanda 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 but she didn't win. On 19 November 2004, she appeared on the BBC's Children in Need telethon singing Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman". On that night also, she announced her engagement to record boss Chris Hughes.
Her most recent TV appearance was on the ITV1 drama, Wild at Heart, which aired its first series at the beginning of 2006. Series two was screened at the beginning of 2007. Amanda plays the role of Sarah alongside Stephen Tompkinson. The show is pulling in over 8 million viewers each week and a third series is due to start filming in the summer[citation needed].
Amanda's other TV credits include three series of the hit comedy Kiss Me Kate alongside Caroline Quentin, three series of the ITV comedy series The Grimleys, Celeb with Harry Enfield, the critically acclaimed BBC series Hearts and Bones alongside Damien Lewis, the comedy series Mad About Alice with Jamie Theakston, and a Boxing Day special Marple alongside Geraldine McEwan and John Hannah. She also co-starred with Bill Nighy and Sir Tom Courtenay in Ready When You Are, Mr McGill, Jack Rosenthal's classic comedy drama.
On 21 January 2006, she gave birth to her first child, Alexa Louise Florence Hughes, by Caesarean section.
On 12 February 2007, it was announced that Amanda would be a judge on the ITV show Britain's Got Talent, as a last minute replacement for Girls Aloud singer, Cheryl Tweedy.
