Amanda Holden takes a fresh swipe at Holly Willoughby as their long-running feud rumbles on
Holly Willoughby has apparently told friends she thinks Amanda Holden is ‘pathetic’ after the Britain’s Got Talent judge publicly slammed her live on radio last week.
Amanda, 54, opened up about the success of her Netflix reality show Cheat: Unfinished Business and the possibility of it being renewed for a second season – days after it was reported 44-year-old Holly’s own Netflix show Celebrity Bear Hunt would not be returning to screens.
After her radio co-presenter Jamie Theakston said that Holly could replace her on Cheat: Unfinished Business asking, ‘What are they suggesting? Getting Holly Willoughby?’, Amanda quickly replied, ‘No – they want a proper presenter!’
And a source tells Closer that Amanda’s latest swipe may be rooted in her resentment over not being given a full-time role on This Morning.
Our source says, ‘Amanda’s spat with Holly is is down to Amanda having always wanted the This Morning job.
‘Since Holly left the show, Amanda has even asked Simon Cowell to speak to ITV to help her get the main presenting job on the show as there was a time when she used to occasionally cover for Holly.
‘She has made it clear in private that she doesn’t really rate Holly as a TV presenter and now wants to up her own game in presenting. She sees Holly as competition – and while Holly is off screens, Amanda is desperate to land a top job presenting with ITV.’
This isn’t the first time Amanda – who shares daughters Lexi, 19, and Hollie, 12, with husband Chris Hughes – has made a public dig at Holly.
Back in June 2023, Amanda appeared to mock Holly’s message to This Morning viewers following Phillip Schofield’s resignation from the hit ITV show. Opening the first episode after his departure, Holly had dramatically said, ‘Right, deep breath. Firstly, are you OK? I hope so.’
The next day, Amanda said in an Instagram story to her followers, ‘Hello, it is Tuesday,’ before clasping her hands and tilting her head while asking, ‘Are you OK?’
Amanda also has a long-running feud with Phillip after he was accused of blocking her from landing a job on This Morning.
After Amanda had covered for mum-of-three Holly on the show when she went on maternity leave in 2014, she was in the running to fill in while Holly hosted I’m A Celebrity…! in 2018 and was reportedly told, unofficially, that she had landed the job before ITV bosses changed their mind. The role ended up going to Rochelle Humes, with an insider claiming at the time, ‘Phillip actively campaigned for Rochelle to get the job, despite Amanda being more experienced.’
Following former The Saturdays singer Rochelle’s stint on the daytime show, Amanda listed ‘spiders, flies and Phillip Schofield’ as the three things she wouldn’t like to find in her house.
Speaking on her radio show about their supposed feud, she previously told co-host Jamie, ‘I did offer to meet him for a coffee months ago, he didn’t reply to my text. What can I say?’
And following the news of Phillip exiting This Morning following an ‘unwise, but not illegal’ relationship with a younger male colleague, she posted a flexed arm emoji to her Instagram story, widely seen as a celebration of his downfall.
Closer reported back in October 2024 how Amanda had softened towards Holly following Phillip’s appearance on Channel 5’s Cast Away, with a source saying at the time, ‘Amanda has really felt for Holly, she herself knows first-hand how brutal it can be to find yourself at the centre of a big scandal.’
But it seems the pair’s not-so-subtle fallout has now been reignited – and a source tells Closer that Holly won’t be responding to Amanda’s latest dig.
The source says, ‘Holly’s chats were on fire last week after Amanda called her out on the radio, but she’s told pals she thinks Amanda is pathetic and she won’t give her the airtime to even respond.
‘There’s clearly no love lost between Holly and Amanda – it’s how it is between them and neither have the time nor inclination to build bridges. It goes all the way back to the This Morning days when Holly and Phil were the King and Queen of daytime. Amanda claims they blocked her from being taken on as a full-time anchor when Holly was on leave and over the summer while they took holiday.
‘The bad blood between them isn’t an industry secret. They are both queens in their own right and Amanda’s career is going from strength to strength right now.
‘Amanda is now definitely a nose ahead and has work offers pouring in, as well as landing a fourth series of her renovations show with pal Alan Carr.
‘Holly and Amanda are both great at what they do but see one another as rivals despite the fact both are quite different and move in different circles.’