Amanda Holden: Subo was a once in a decade find

11 April 2012
The Weekender

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Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda Holden has said the show is unlikely to turn up another Susan Boyle for a decade.

Boyle's showstopping audition became a YouTube sensation last year and she has gone down a storm in the United States, gathering a string of celebrity fans.

Actress and TV presenter Holden, 39, told Good Housekeeping magazine how Boyle changed the nature of the contest.


Amanda Holden: isn't expecting to discover another Susan Boyle for at least 10 years

She said: "Last year's series became iconic - you're not going to find another Susan Boyle in 10 years.

"We had no way of predicting that she would turn into a global phenomenon.

"But it has changed the nature of the show, as now, potentially, we are looking for a worldwide star.

"I just have to go on my gut instinct, thinking: 'What do I like? And what would my mum and nan like?"'

Holden also spoke of her hopes to have another child.

Talking about her four-year-old daughter Lexi, Holden said: "I'm just like any other working mother in the country - dealing with the same mix of guilt and worry."

She later added: "I don't really want Lexi to be an only child, but at my age I think I'm very lucky to have one healthy one.

"A lot of my friends are having problems, so if I can it would be great, although I suppose I ought to knock on with it, really!"

Holden was asked what had got her through her "period of darkness" when she was split up with ex-husband Les Dennis after being linked to actor Neil Morrissey.

She said: "I had good friends around me and, bizarrely, my ex-husband was really supportive, too."

Holden, who is now married to music producer Chris Hughes, said: "However hard it's been, nobody could make me give up what I love doing.

"I would never allow myself to be bullied like that. I have a streak of stubbornness in me, just like my nan."

On the subject of scrutiny over her looks, Holden said: "I'm not doing Botox any more...

"I was sick of reading about me having Botox, because I was one of the few celebs who admitted to doing it, so I stopped."

She said of her ambitions: "I would love to be a judge on a big entertainment show over in America, and I'd love to be in a Bollywood movie!

"Although I still get drama scripts sent to me, I think in this country you're only really allowed to do one thing at a time, and at the moment I'm perceived as a presenter.

"But I'm so happy to be in this position now."

The full interview is in the June issue of Good Housekeeping, out today.

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