Amanda Holden reveals plans to sex up DIY outfits and flash the flesh as she returns for Alan & Amanda’s Spanish job
SHE caused a furore with her sexy dresses on Britain’s Got Talent, but for once Amanda Holden is toning down her look for her next TV project.
Rather than plunging necklines that attract Ofcom complaints, she dons a dour boiler suit to reunite with pal Alan Carr for the return of their hit home renovation show.
But the presenter teased she might sex up her overalls for any future series of Amanda & Alan’s Spanish Job.
She said: “It’s a joy to wear something so different, and nice to be able to breathe out, with no side boob . . . though next year I might have some side boob.
“For now, I always go pretty classy and standard. I’ve got my name on the back, but I didn’t even do that in Spanish — I’ve got Handy Mandy. I should have put Handios Mandios.”
In contrast, comedian pal Alan fully embraces the Spanish theme — even if he isn’t confident his outfit achieved quite the desired effect.
He said: “I was thinking how fun it would be to be all dressed up — you know, ‘Take that, Amanda’ — and then we had to go to the local B&Q in Spain, and I looked like a fat matador.
“I don’t support bull fighting, and I didn’t want the animal rights people to attack me in the street.
“Plus, it stinks after weeks of wearing it . . . and I can’t wash it or it will all fall apart. I’ve had to Febreeze my nipple tassels!”
Later this month, the comedian and his TV host pal return to BBC One with the third series of their DIY show, Amanda & Alan’s Italian Job, which sees them transforming residential wrecks into beautiful homes.
Before that, though, viewers will get to see them head across the Med to transform their largest build yet — a three-storey home in a village just outside of Grenada, Spain, which had been abandoned for three decades.
It is certainly a departure for the pair, who are used to big entertainment shows, presented — in Amanda’s case — with lashings of glamour.
‘Sordid burlesque show’
But the stunning radio presenter is keen not to shy away from a challenge, which is proved by the fact that she is taking on more telly jobs than ever right now.
As well as BGT, the TV host has also been making Netflix show Cheaters: Unfinished Business and has just filmed a Christmas special of The Spanish Job.
Amanda explained: “I’m very privileged to pick what I work on — and my career is at its best right now.
“At 53, I’m at the most amazing point I’ve been at, so bring it on.”
Alan, 48, is also realising that younger people have different expectations of him.
But he is equally defiant and, like Amanda, is just pleased he has been around long enough to cherry-pick which TV shows he works on.
Alan said: “Recently I got on the Tube and someone offered me their seat — and then I went clubbing, and I was the oldest one there.
“I came down the stairs and someone says, ‘Good for you’.
“So I’m at that age now where I just pick shows that I love doing, because life’s too short and I just want fun as I go into the autumn of my years.”
Amanda and Alan’s endless enthusiasm was vital as they took on the challenges of the home renovation shows, particularly the new project in Spain.
On inspecting the property there for the first time, they discovered an unwanted sight in the bathroom — just one of many curveballs.
Alan said: “There was a s**t in the bath when we got there.
“No one wanted to see that, so we obviously had to remove it — the bathroom and the turd went. That was a learning curve.”
Amanda added: “Then I thought I’d broken my ankle when I was pushing a barrow of cement up a plank, and missed my footing, and Alan got a splinter.
“There are loads of things that have gone wrong, and we’ve had things falling down.
“We put up a ceiling this time, held up with bits of grass and plaster of Paris, which we are hoping stays up.”
Despite some tense TV moments, Amanda and Alan insist they have yet to fall out. In fact, their friendship seems to have cemented itself.
Alan said: “Before series one, we were genuine friends and we would meet every so often.
“But now we’re together all the time and the phone calls have become more and more frequent.
“I’ve stood outside toilet doors like a club bouncer while Amanda gets changed into her boiler suit, and her pants come over the top of the door like some sordid burlesque show.”
Amanda added: “And Alan’s held up an umbrella for me while I’ve had a wee in a car park. We pretend to bicker on camera, but we haven’t really ever been tested.
“And sometimes it can get really emotional, because we sit and talk together about our parents getting older, and about our childhoods.”
Amanda is even helping Alan to find the next lucky man in his life, by spreading word that he is open to dating.
Alan split from his husband Paul Drayton in January 2022 after 13 years together.
Amanda explained: “I have an idea of someone for him, but I’m not putting it out there.
“He deserves to find someone, but it’s all by word of mouth only. I won’t do the apps — it’s friends of friends.”
Alan agreed. “Maybe that’s why they’re going so unsuccessfully, but I’ve been going on a few dates, dipping my toe in.
“I’m ready for someone, and I might dip something else in if it gets to a second date.”
Thankfully, the pair have been on the same page about plans for transforming the crumbling Spanish building into a B&B.
Nudist beach
Amanda explained: “At that time of year in Spain, you don’t find any builders — only us Brits working away in 37C heat — and this building is twice the size of anything we’ve done before.”
The scale of the project required them to add a hotel reception, multiple bedrooms and bathrooms (one with its own Turkish-style spa), a plunge pool and even a bar to the list of jobs to be completed.
Much to the disappointment of Alan, they have had to get their hands dirtier than ever with tiling, sanding, roofing, painting and demolition work — none of which he says he has the knack for.
Alan added: “I love it at the end of the project when you’re lighting the candles and fluffing cushions, but Amanda? She loves knocking down the walls and getting all dusty and dirty — the grotty jobs.
“I wish there would be a task where they go, ‘Alan, you are in your element’, but I’m rubbish.
“Someone’s doing all the hard work while all I’m thinking about is lunch.
“I moan because I am so out of my comfort zone — I hate DIY, I hate being hot, I hate being dusty, and I hate being talked down to.
“Sometimes this show is just a dream! In the show there’s only one room we’re working on together, and that’s the closest we’ve come to a row.
“And there’s been a few rooms where I’ve gone, ‘Argh! She’s done it again’ because I know I’ve got the ropey room — like the one with no windows, it’s airless, which she told me would be a wonderful idea.
“It’s hard work, it’s long hours, and you’re away from home, so I wouldn’t do this with anyone else — I couldn’t.”
The hotel we are staying in has had to bring in more Aperol just for us to drink.
Amanda Holden
It’s not all hard work, though.
Fans of the first two series will know that aside from honing their DIY skills, Amanda and Alan don’t shy away from getting stuck in with all that the local area has to offer.
This time, the pair try their hand at flamenco dancing, kayaking, pottery-making and baking, as well as eating their bodyweight in tasty local delicacies at a tapas market in Seville, and sinking Aperol by the bottle.
Amanda joked: “The hotel we are staying in has had to bring in more Aperol just for us to drink.
“But we’ve done loads outside the build and been everywhere — sherry- tasting, whale-watching, olive- and orange-picking, and making churros from scratch with the locals.
“We also went to the nudist beach, and there was a man who was very keen on picking up pebbles. Like, why do people bend over on a nudist beach? It’s not a good look, even if you’re Cindy Crawford.”
If nothing else, it is all material for Alan and Amanda to giggle at between takes.
She added: “We both have a dirty sense of humour, and in the series we were getting emotional talking nostalgic things, like what we did when we were kids on holiday.
“I said really innocently that my favourite sound in the world was a zip going down, which I, of course, meant on a tent — like when you are being zipped in.
“It’s like Carry On Alan And Amanda, sometimes. We’re a walking Carry On film.”
- Amanda & Alan’s Spanish Job starts January 24 at 8pm on BBC One.