With her boundless energy, sassy style and the perfect combination of family – and sex – appeal, Amanda Holden has long been one of the UK’s most sought-after TV faces.
Now, as her popularity continues to soar, an insider reveals how the Britain’s Got Talent matriarch, 53, is being lined up for a potential return to This Morning as viewing figures for the daytime show dropped by half in the first two months following Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard’s debut.
A source tells Closer, ‘Bosses want to bring the fun and laughter back to the show, and Amanda has all that.
‘As it comes up to a year since Cat and Ben started last March, ITV bosses are very worried about the ratings. They haven’t been great and viewers have commented about the lack of chemistry between Ben and Cat – they fear it could be a sinking ship.
‘Amanda could be the saviour and the dream girl for ITV – and she’d really enjoy that. She’s got a wicked sense of humour and would bring a lot to the show – and of course it would be the ultimate finger up to Phillip Schofield.’
This year marks a decade since Amanda’s fiery feud with Phillip first began to secretly simmer behind the scenes.
Amanda, who landed her first TV series back in 1997, made her sofa debut for This Morning in 2014 while covering for Holly Willoughby during her maternity leave. And while her co-host Phil joked that Amanda’s relaxed presenting style was ‘scary’, the duo appeared to hit it off.
But in 2018, Phil reportedly played a hand in hiring Rochelle Humes over Amanda to temporarily replace Holly while she was covering Ant McPartlin’s absence in that year’s series of I’m A Celebrity!.
At the time, reports suggested that Amanda had been a strong contender, but that Phil had blocked the hiring, insisting Rochelle was ‘easier to manage’ – allegedly leaving Amanda absolutely furious.
A few weeks later, while hosting her radio show, Amanda quipped that among the things she wouldn’t want to find in her house were, ‘Spiders, flies and Phillip Schofield’.
The source says, ‘Amanda has always vowed that she’d never return to This Morning again after what happened – she found it all really embarrassing.
‘She was one of the very few people to stand up to Phillip at the time and was very open about how she felt about him. She thought he was cruel to her.’
But in 2023, the show’s reputation reached crisis point following a string of public scandals exposing secrets and lies behind the scenes, including the infamous ‘queue-gate’, when Phil, 62, sensationally stepped down from his role after 21 years after embarking on an ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a younger colleague.
While Holly, 43, kept a dignified silence after a live statement expressing her shock, Amanda posted a muscle-arm emoji – hinting that she had been happy with the news of Phillip’s departure.
She later cryptically added, ‘You are going to come down, but you don’t have to come crashing down, you can say things about me, and it’s water off a duck’s back.’
Meanwhile, Closer recently reported how Amanda – who is mum to Lexi, 18, and Hollie, 12 – had been supporting Holly following the feud.
An insider told Closer, ‘Amanda has been Team Holly through everything. She thinks Phil’s attempt at trying to blame her for his behaviour is all totally unjustified. She feels happy that everyone has now seen Phillip for how he can be.’
Now the source adds that Holly is fully backing Amanda’s potential return.
They explain, ‘Holly will be supporting Amanda behind the scenes. They haven’t been the best of friends, but Holly has appreciated Amanda’s public support through the whole Phillip feud.’
And the insider says Phil’s departure has changed the goal posts for Amanda, adding, ‘Amanda was always insistent that she wouldn’t go back, but money talks and she likes Ben. The circumstances are different now – she knows that Phillip will never be on the show again.
‘It’s an extremely high-pressure job and Cat has previously said that if it got too much, she would leave. Now, with the low ratings and lack of chemistry, bosses want to shake things up and are really hoping that Amanda agrees.’