SHE turned 50 last year but Amanda Holden is not about to tone down her outrageous outfits any time soon.
Amanda, now appearing as a panellist on BBC singing-contest gameshow I Can See Your Voice, has become a style icon over the last few years, with nearly two million fans following her Instagram for daily wardrobe inspiration.
But her eye-popping outfits as a judge on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent have sparked many a complaints to watchdog Ofcom.
So does she like courting controversy with her barely-there kit?
“Oh yes, 100 per cent,” she says. “That’s what it’s all about. It’s hilarious how much controversy my outfits have caused — people have got so much time on their hands.
“I mean, no really one paid much attention to what I wore when I was in my twenties or thirties.
“I enjoy it, it’s all good fun. I would always rather be overdressed than underdressed for any situation. That’s been a general rule for me since I was about five.”
Indeed, when it comes to her wardrobe for her primetime BBC One show, Amanda reckons she can take even MORE risks.
She says: “It’s a bit more edgy, perhaps, on this show. Not in the way everyone talks about certain parts of my body on BGT, but I guess more of an edge.
"I wear things perhaps people might not expect me to wear. Less classic than on Britain’s Got Talent.
“I never like to buy clothes I can’t wear, the following year — or again and again — so it’s never going to be anything that’s too mad.”
She says: “I dress for other women, and myself. I constantly look at what other women are wearing and stop people and go, ‘Oh my God, where’s that from?’
“That’s why I love going to America so much, because you do your food shop and there is someone who says: ‘Where’s that dress from?’ Or ‘Oh, it’s so pretty.’ and you have a big chat about it, whereas it rarely happens here.
“People are sort of too shy to speak to each other. I’m not. So I will happily chat away.
“But definitely, I’ve always dressed for women, and myself.”
As far as Amanda is concerned, the days of women in their fifties being seen as “over the hill” are now long gone.
She says: “We’re not 19 any more, but we also don’t want to be.
My children always say: ‘Mummy, you are not going to look like an old granny when we have children, are you?’ I say: ‘No, I’ll look like Joan Collins.’ I want to be called Glammy, not Granny or Nanny.
Amanda Holden
"My mum looks fantastic, but I remember when she turned 50 — you did think of it as an old thing, but now you go: ‘Oh . . . ’
“We’ve got Jennifer Aniston, Kylie Minogue, J.Lo, all looking incredible and these people are older than me, so I’m just inspired by them every single day.
"Hopefully it means we can shift that old-fashioned attitude of, ‘Well, I can’t wear that because I’m 51’, or, ‘I can’t do my hair this colour because I’m in my fifties’.
“Also, not feeling you have to get to an age and give up on yourself.
“My children always say: ‘Mummy, you are not going to look like an old granny when we have children, are you?’ I say: ‘No, I’ll look like Joan Collins.’ I want to be called Glammy, not Granny or Nanny.”
It’s a good job Amanda — married to music producer Chris Hughes — is forward-thinking about fashion, as her eldest daughter, Lexi, 16, is about to embark on a modelling career.
It’s a job she’s dreamed of for years — and after signing a big- money deal with leading agency Storm, she is well on her way.
No one is more equipped to help Lexi navigate the highs and lows in the spotlight than Amanda — also mum to Hollie, ten — and she is ready to be a “tiger mummy”.
She says: “At the moment, Lexi’s learning her craft — how to pose, how to walk. And then we will release her into the modelling world.
“But she’s super-excited and has the right mentality — she’s very unfazed by things, is not easily impressed, and doesn’t suffer fools.
“All of those qualities Chris and I have, so she’s been brought up like that. She’ll be looked after because she can look after herself pretty well. And she’s got a tiger mummy and a daddy as well.”
Amanda admits Lexi has not decided whether she wants to become a catwalk queen or cover star.
She says: “Lexi is tall enough to do everything, so we’ll see what happens, but everybody’s very enthusiastic.
“She just wants to embrace the entire thing when it happens and hopefully it’ll work out for her.
“But she’ll be doing her education first because she’s clever as well. I’d like her to have as many options as possible once she’s 18.”
And although Amanda is now a showbiz veteran, she is still exper-iencing career firsts — including bagging top-brand hair and make-up deals.
I dress for other women, and myself. I constantly look at what other women are wearing and stop people and go, ‘Oh my God, where’s that from?'
Amanda Holden
She’s on a mission to empower women of all ages, showing glamour is not just for women in their twenties.
She says: “I see what the wonder-ful Davina McCall and Claudia Winkleman and people like that have done and I’m like: ‘Oh my gosh, why not me?’
“Then (hair care and styling brand) Charles Worthington came to me when I was 50, and I’ve just done a big hook-up with (make-up brand) Revolution Pro make-up. I’ll be bringing out my own range with them next year.”
For now, Amanda’s focussed on having fun with her I Can See Your Voice co-stars, Ths Morning host Alison Hammond and comedian Jimmy Carr — and she admits that when it comes to the singing competition, it’s Jimmy who’s desperate to win.
She says: “Me and Alison are sort of more up for the gags and fun. Jimmy is just desperate to look like he knows what he’s talking about.
“He’s the most competitive one. He’s the one that wants to show his braininess and just how clever he is.
“Me and Alison are sort of in it for the LOLs more than anything.
“It’s best not to get into battle with Jimmy, though, because it will be me that ends up on the floor — because he is the king of put-downs.
“I can give as good as I get. He normally gives better — but I’ve done tax jokes, I’ve done plastic surgery jokes, I’ve poked fun at his hair transplant.
“Any time I can, I’ve got in the sort of low punches. He loves it. He loves a comedy roast.”