A source says that Amanda Holden will brush herself off and move on after TV critic blasts her new Cheat: Unfinished Business series as ‘worst show ever created’
Amanda Holden’s new reality show has been panned by the critics, but a source claims that the veteran presenter is refusing to “focus on the negatives”. The nine-part Cheat: Unfinished Business series, which landed on Netflix on 30 April, sees the 54-year-old Britain’s Got Talent judge join forces with relationship guru Paul C Brunson to reunite eight former couples who split up due to infidelity – or alleged infidelity, as reports OK!.
It is Heart radio host Amanda’s first major project for the streaming service, joining the likes of celebrity presenters Holly Willoughby, who hosted Celebrity Bear Hunt , and Matt and Emma Willis, who fronted Love Is Blind . Despite the show sitting at number six on the Netflix UK Top 10 at the time of going to press, the critics’ reviews tell a different story. One national newspaper described it as “basically The Jeremy Kyle Show on coke”, and another branded it “the single worst thing that has ever been created in the history of humankind”.
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But according to our source, Amanda, whose 1995 marriage to comedian Les Dennis ended very publicly when she had an affair with actor Neil Morrissey, has been in showbiz long enough not to let the critics’ words ruin her moment. “Amanda has had a good 20 years at the top and she’s a professional, she’s not naïve,” they said. “She knows that in this industry you’ll have highs and lows, and you can’t sit at home crying and losing sleep about it.
“She’s fully aware of how negative some of the reviews are, and of course it’s a bit humiliating to read them, but as far as she’s concerned, she had fun making the series, she earned her money, some people liked it, some didn’t, and now it’s on to the next thing.
“She’s very robust, she’s already been through a lot worse than this, with all the stories about the end of her marriage to Les back in the day, for example. She’s a tough cookie. She’ll never take the criticism personally or let the online haters win. She’s very robust, she’ll always defend herself.”
Amanda isn’t known for staying silent when she feels professional criticism isn’t justified. In December last year, she came out fighting after some viewers tweeted about her Royal Variety Performance with Alan Carr, throwing around words like “awkward” and “painful”.
Following the criticism, Amanda hit back on her socials, saying that despite the temptation to “ignore” the comments she wanted to speak up. “All the big shows get battered… Merry Christmas you lovely lot. Our ratings were brilliant so that’s what counts xx,” she told fans.
Amanda, who is now married to producer Chris Hughes and has two daughters, has also been at the centre of a number of fiery debates about some of her daring outfits on Britain’s Got Talent – one of which attracted more than 630 complaints to the TV regulator Ofcom.
In 2017, her plunging black Julien Macdonald frock – worth an eye-watering £11,000 – was described by some viewers as “unsuitable” for a family show. In response, Amanda made it clear she wasn’t going to change her fashion style for anyone, saying, “It’s all quite laughable. It’s been called another national crisis – but, oh no, I will not be covered up.”
Despite the official reviews of Cheat: Unfinished Business , the show has received a lot of love from Amanda’s many followers on her social media. Fans have said, “This was so good, binge-watched it all,” and “Absolute dream pairing this is,” in reference to Amanda and Paul, who is also currently filming Celebs Go Dating.
Discussing the format on The One Show before the series dropped, Amanda emphasised that it was ultimately about helping people, not just eyeballing people’s heartache. “The end result is that you have 16 people leave there that are so different to how they went in,” she said. “That’s what I find so heartwarming and brilliant about it. Yes, you are watching it to get the gossip and the salaciousness and the juicy factor. But every single person who went in has learnt something.”
While Amanda might have had good intentions, they appear to have been lost on many of the country’s TV critics. The Telegraph ’s arts and entertainment editor delivered a two-star review, writing, “Drama-wise, it is the TV equivalent of sitting on a bus and overhearing a stranger moaning on the phone about their ex. Then going on seven other bus journeys and having to listen to the same sort of thing.”
However, there have been rumours already of a second series being commissioned, but Amanda told her Heart Radio listeners last week she “didn’t know for sure”.
It is far from professional doom and gloom for the TV personality though. Earlier this month, Amanda and comedian Alan Carr announced that the BBC had recommissioned a fourth series of their popular Amanda And Alan renovation show.
Revealing the news on her socials, Amanda said, “We couldn’t be happier to be spending another summer together bashing down walls in one of our favourite places ever! MILLIONS of you tuned in – thank you SO MUCH for all the love and support.”
Our source goes on to claim that Amanda is more than capable of handling the ups and downs that go with working in the fickle showbiz industry so, while her pride might be temporarily hurt, she’ll “dust herself off and move on”.
They added, “She knows there’s a few lows in the highs, but she had fun doing it and she doesn’t regret it. She also doesn’t have time to focus on the negatives. She’s got a lot going on with BGT and more shows with Alan. She knows that in this industry, you win some, you lose some – and Amanda’s still hot property in TV land.”
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Source: Mirror
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