Amanda Holden
Encyclopedia
Amanda Louise Holden is an English actress and presenter. Among her roles are Mia Bevan in Cutting It
, Sarah Trevanion in Wild at Heart
, and the title role in Thoroughly Modern Millie
, for which she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award. Since 2007, Holden has been a judge on Britain's Got Talent
.
She is married to record producer Chris Hughes. Her marriage to Family Fortunes
presenter Les Dennis
ended in divorce in 2003.
, Hampshire to Judith Mary Harrison and Naval petty officer Frank Holden. Her parents split up when she was four and she was brought up in the village of Waltham Chase
, by Harrison and stepfather Leslie Drew Collister. She joined the Bishop's Waltham Little Theatre Company when she was nine, and credits Angie Blackford as influential in her early stage career. When she was 16 the family moved to Bournemouth
and ran a small B&B while Amanda herself studied Drama and English literature A levels with Terry Clarke and Charles Lamb at the Jellicoe Theatre, now part of Bournemouth and Poole College
. She successfully auditioned for the independent drama school Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts
in the Wood Green
area of North London when she was 18, graduating in July 1994.
in 1991, since which she has become a familiar face on British television. Holden appeared in the ITV
drama Wild at Heart
as Sarah Trevanion. She is currently a judge on Britain's Got Talent
alongside Michael McIntyre
, David Hasselhoff
and Simon Cowell
and previously Piers Morgan
. She has appeared on various British comedy and drama series such as Smack the Pony
, EastEnders
, Hearts and Bones
, Cutting It
and as a co-star with Harry Enfield
in comedy series Celeb.
In April 2009, it was reported that the US network CBS
had offered Holden the job of one time guest presenter on The Early Show
, a daytime talk show. Holden confirmed that she would host the show, and presented alongside regular presenters Harry Smith
and Maggie Rodriguez
on 1 June. Holden has since been signed up with CBS as a British correspondent for The Early Show
.
In July 2009, Holden became a gossip columnist
for the News of the World
's celebrity orientated magazine Fabulous. In January 2010, she started a new three-part show called Amanda Holden's Fantasy Lives.
, which closed earlier than expected at the end of June 2004.
She appeared in the ITV1
drama Wild at Heart
, alongside Stephen Tompkinson
. The first series aired in 2006 and a second series followed in early 2007. Series three ran from 20 January to 9 March 2008, after which Holden left the programme. She then appeared as Lizzie the Ring Mistress in the sitcom Big Top
(BBC1, 2009), which ran for one series.
Holden's other TV credits include three series of the hit comedy Kiss Me Kate alongside Caroline Quentin
, three series of the ITV
comedy series The Grimleys
, Celeb with Harry Enfield
, the critically acclaimed BBC
series Hearts and Bones
alongside Damian Lewis
, the Jonathan Creek
episode "The Problem at Gallowes Gate" and a Boxing Day
special Marple
alongside Geraldine McEwan
and John Hannah
. She also co-starred with Bill Nighy
and Tom Courtenay
in Ready When You Are, Mr McGill
, Jack Rosenthal
's classic comedy drama.
She most recently finished playing the role of Princess Fiona
in the original West End
production of Shrek the Musical, which began on 6 May 2011. The show opened at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 14 June 2011. She starred alongside Nigel Lindsay
, Richard Blackwood
and Nigel Harman
. Holden departed the show on 3 October 2011, ten weeks earlier than planned, to focus on her unborn child. She was replaced by Girls Aloud
singer Kimberley Walsh
.
in June 1995. They had a temporary split in 2000 when Holden's affair
with actor Neil Morrissey
was exposed in the press, before eventually separating in December 2002 and divorcing in 2003.
On 21 January 2006, Holden gave birth to her first child, Alexa Louise Florence "Lexi" Hughes with fiancé Chris Hughes. She married record producer Hughes at Babington House
, Somerset, on 10 December 2008 with former Formula One
racing driver David Coulthard
acting as the best man. In early January 2011, Holden announced she was pregnant with a baby boy and that he was due to be born in March 2011. On 1 February 2011 her son was stillborn
. She had previously suffered a miscarriage
in May 2010. On 24 August 2011, Holden announced on Twitter that she was expecting a second baby girl.
Holden ran the London Marathon
in 4 hours and 13 minutes on 13 April 2008, in the name of the Born Free Foundation
, having collected public and celebrity sponsors online.
Holden is a fan of Everton Football Club
and attends games when her work permits.
Holden fronted Everton's breast cancer awareness campaign, sporting a limited edition baby pink club shirt, the colour of breast cancer awareness. In September 2011, Holden was sponsored to bake a cake for every child in the Great Ormond Street Hospital
.
. Residents of her hometown later accused her of a double standard in November 2010 when she signed a deal with Tesco
, the UK's largest supermarket chain.
Cutting It
Cutting It was a popular BBC television programme set in Manchester, England, which ran for four series between 2002 and 2005.- Series 1 :...
, Sarah Trevanion in Wild at Heart
Wild at Heart (TV series)
Wild at Heart is a current ITV television drama series about a Bristol-based vet and his family emigrating to start a game park in South Africa. The show premiered in January 2006 and has recently finished screening its sixth series...
, and the title role in Thoroughly Modern Millie
Thoroughly Modern Millie
Thoroughly Modern Millie is a 1967 American musical film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Julie Andrews. The screenplay by Richard Morris focuses on a naive young woman who finds herself in the midst of a series of madcap adventures when she sets her sights on marrying her wealthy boss.The...
, for which she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award. Since 2007, Holden has been a judge on Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
.
She is married to record producer Chris Hughes. Her marriage to Family Fortunes
Family Fortunes
Family Fortunes is a British game show, based on the American game show Family Feud. The programme ran on ITV from 6 January 1980 to 6 December 2002 before being revived by the same channel in 2006 under the title of All Star Family Fortunes...
presenter Les Dennis
Les Dennis
Les Dennis is an English comedian, television presenter and actor best known as the host of Family Fortunes for 15 years.-Early life:...
ended in divorce in 2003.
Biography
Holden was born in Bishop's WalthamBishop's Waltham
Bishop's Waltham is a small town in Hampshire, England situated at the head of the River Hamble. It is home to the ruins of Bishop's Waltham Palace, an English Heritage monument.-History:...
, Hampshire to Judith Mary Harrison and Naval petty officer Frank Holden. Her parents split up when she was four and she was brought up in the village of Waltham Chase
Waltham Chase
Waltham Chase is a village in Hampshire, England, neighbouring the village of Bishop's Waltham.The village comprises about 2 sq. kilometres of land to the south-east of Bishop's Waltham....
, by Harrison and stepfather Leslie Drew Collister. She joined the Bishop's Waltham Little Theatre Company when she was nine, and credits Angie Blackford as influential in her early stage career. When she was 16 the family moved to Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
and ran a small B&B while Amanda herself studied Drama and English literature A levels with Terry Clarke and Charles Lamb at the Jellicoe Theatre, now part of Bournemouth and Poole College
Bournemouth and Poole College
The Bournemouth and Poole College is a further education establishment based in Bournemouth and Poole on the south coast of England. It is one of the larger UK colleges catering for an average of 24,000 learners each year, and it is a member of the 157 Group of high performing schools.- Courses...
. She successfully auditioned for the independent drama school Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts
Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts
Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts is an independent drama school situated in the Wood Green area of North London. It was founded in 1945 by Peter Coxhead and Ralph Nossek as 'The Mountview Theatre Club', an amateur repertory company staging a new production for a six-day run every second week...
in the Wood Green
Wood Green
Wood Green is a district in north London, England, located in the London Borough of Haringey. It is situated north of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London.-History:...
area of North London when she was 18, graduating in July 1994.
Television career
Her first television appearance was as a contestant on the UK game show Blind DateBlind Date (UK TV series)
Blind Date is a British dating game show produced by London Weekend Television. An unscreened pilot was made with comic Duncan Norvelle as presenter but it was eventually hosted by Cilla Black, who already hosted the LWT series, Surprise, Surprise...
in 1991, since which she has become a familiar face on British television. Holden appeared in the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
drama Wild at Heart
Wild at Heart (TV series)
Wild at Heart is a current ITV television drama series about a Bristol-based vet and his family emigrating to start a game park in South Africa. The show premiered in January 2006 and has recently finished screening its sixth series...
as Sarah Trevanion. She is currently a judge on Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
alongside Michael McIntyre
Michael McIntyre
Michael Hazen James McIntyre is an English stand-up comedian. He is well known for appearing at many British stand-up comedy events and for several roles on television stand-up programmes such as Live at the Apollo and his own show, Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow...
, David Hasselhoff
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...
and Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
and previously Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan , known professionally as Piers Morgan, is a British journalist and television presenter. He is editorial director of First News, a national newspaper for children....
. She has appeared on various British comedy and drama series such as Smack the Pony
Smack the Pony
Smack the Pony is a British sketch comedy show that ran from 1999 until 2003 on Channel 4. Its title was intended to sound like a euphemism for female masturbation; the working title was Spot the Pony. The main performers and writers on the show were Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan and Sally Phillips...
, EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, Hearts and Bones
Hearts and Bones (TV series)
Hearts and Bones is television drama series, about a group of friends who move from Coventry to London, starring Damian Lewis, Dervla Kirwan and Sarah Parish which aired on BBC One in 2000...
, Cutting It
Cutting It
Cutting It was a popular BBC television programme set in Manchester, England, which ran for four series between 2002 and 2005.- Series 1 :...
and as a co-star with Harry Enfield
Harry Enfield
Henry Richard "Harry" Enfield is a BAFTA-winning English comedian, actor, writer and director.-Early life:...
in comedy series Celeb.
In April 2009, it was reported that the US network CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
had offered Holden the job of one time guest presenter on The Early Show
The Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
, a daytime talk show. Holden confirmed that she would host the show, and presented alongside regular presenters Harry Smith
Harry Smith (television)
Harry Smith is an American television journalist. He hosted the CBS News morning programs, The Early Show and its predecessor, CBS This Morning, for 17 years...
and Maggie Rodriguez
Maggie Rodriguez
Margarita Dania Rodriguez is a former co-anchor of the CBS television program, The Early Show, from December 2007 through December 2010. Rodriguez was also a substitute anchor for Katie Couric on The CBS Evening News. Rodriguez was formerly co-anchor of the Saturday edition of The Early Show in 2007...
on 1 June. Holden has since been signed up with CBS as a British correspondent for The Early Show
The Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
.
In July 2009, Holden became a gossip columnist
Gossip columnist
A gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine, especially a gossip magazine. Gossip columns are material written in a light, informal style, which relates the gossip columnist's opinions about the personal lives or conduct of celebrities from show business ,...
for the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
's celebrity orientated magazine Fabulous. In January 2010, she started a new three-part show called Amanda Holden's Fantasy Lives.
Acting career
Holden has appeared in several stage musicals and in 2004 was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in the West End production of Thoroughly Modern Millie (musical)Thoroughly Modern Millie (musical)
Thoroughly Modern Millie is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics by Dick Scanlan, and a book by Richard Morris and Scanlan. Based on the 1967 film of the same name, Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of a small-town girl, Millie Dillmount, who comes to New York City to marry for...
, which closed earlier than expected at the end of June 2004.
She appeared in the ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
drama Wild at Heart
Wild at Heart (TV series)
Wild at Heart is a current ITV television drama series about a Bristol-based vet and his family emigrating to start a game park in South Africa. The show premiered in January 2006 and has recently finished screening its sixth series...
, alongside Stephen Tompkinson
Stephen Tompkinson
Stephen Tompkinson is a British actor. He is best known for his work in comedy and drama productions such as Drop the Dead Donkey, Ballykissangel, Grafters, In Deep, Wild at Heart and DCI Banks....
. The first series aired in 2006 and a second series followed in early 2007. Series three ran from 20 January to 9 March 2008, after which Holden left the programme. She then appeared as Lizzie the Ring Mistress in the sitcom Big Top
Big Top (2009 TV series)
Big Top was a BBC television situation comedy series which first aired on 25 November 2009. The series was set in and around a travelling circus, aired on BBC One and BBC HD simultaneously. The series revolved around the performers and backstage staff of Circus Maestro. The first series consisted...
(BBC1, 2009), which ran for one series.
Holden's other TV credits include three series of the hit comedy Kiss Me Kate alongside Caroline Quentin
Caroline Quentin
Caroline Jones known by her stage name Caroline Quentin, is an English actress. Quentin became known for her television appearances in Men Behaving Badly, playing Dorothy, and playing Maddy Magellan in Jonathan Creek for three years.-Early life:...
, three series of the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
comedy series The Grimleys
The Grimleys
The Grimleys is a nostalgic comedy-drama television series set on a council estate in Dudley, West Midlands, England in the mid-1970s. It was first broadcast by Granada TV for ITV in 1999, following a pilot in 1997, and concluded in 2001 after three series....
, Celeb with Harry Enfield
Harry Enfield
Henry Richard "Harry" Enfield is a BAFTA-winning English comedian, actor, writer and director.-Early life:...
, the critically acclaimed BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
series Hearts and Bones
Hearts and Bones (TV series)
Hearts and Bones is television drama series, about a group of friends who move from Coventry to London, starring Damian Lewis, Dervla Kirwan and Sarah Parish which aired on BBC One in 2000...
alongside Damian Lewis
Damian Lewis
Lewis was born in St John's Wood, London, the son of Charlotte Mary and J. Watcyn Lewis, a City broker. His paternal grandparents were Welsh. His maternal grandfather was Lord Mayor of London Ian Frank Bowater and his maternal grandmother's ancestors include Bertrand Dawson, 1st Viscount Dawson of...
, the Jonathan Creek
Jonathan Creek
Jonathan Creek is a British mystery series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. Primarily a crime drama, the show is also peppered with broadly comic touches...
episode "The Problem at Gallowes Gate" and a Boxing Day
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...
special Marple
Marple (TV series)
Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple and other murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It is also known as Agatha Christie's Marple. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first to third series, until her retirement from the role. She was replaced...
alongside Geraldine McEwan
Geraldine McEwan
Geraldine McEwan is an English actor with a diverse history in theatre, film, and television. From 2004 to 2009 she appeared as Miss Marple, the Agatha Christie sleuth, for the series Marple.-Background:...
and John Hannah
John Hannah (actor)
John David Hannah is a Scottish actor of film and television. He has appeared in Stephen Sommers' Mummy Series, Richard Curtis' Four Weddings and a Funeral and Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow...
. She also co-starred with Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy
William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
and Tom Courtenay
Tom Courtenay
Sir Thomas Daniel "Tom" Courtenay is an English actor who came to prominence in the early 1960s with a succession of films including The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner , Billy Liar , and Dr. Zhivago . Since the mid-1960s he has been known primarily for his work in the theatre...
in Ready When You Are, Mr McGill
Ready When You Are, Mr McGill
Ready When You Are, Mr McGill is a feature length TV drama, written by Jack Rosenthal. ITV produced two versions, in 1976 and 2003. The 1976 version was the first in a series of six single television plays called "Red Letter Days" each of which showed the events in a single, special day in...
, Jack Rosenthal
Jack Rosenthal
Jack Morris Rosenthal CBE was an English playwright, who wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV soap opera Coronation Street and over 150 screenplays, including original TV plays, feature films, and adaptations.-Biography:...
's classic comedy drama.
She most recently finished playing the role of Princess Fiona
Princess Fiona
Princess Fiona is the princess and the tritagonist in the films Shrek, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After. Actress Cameron Diaz provides her voice to the character, and Fiona's singing is provided by Renee Sands of Kids Incorporated and Wild Orchid.-Shrek:In Shrek, Lord Farquaad sends...
in the original West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
production of Shrek the Musical, which began on 6 May 2011. The show opened at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 14 June 2011. She starred alongside Nigel Lindsay
Nigel Lindsay
Nigel Lindsay is an English actor. He was nominated for Best British Comedy Performance in Film at the 2011 British Comedy Awards for his performance as Barry, the Muslim convert in Chris Morris's BAFTA winning Four Lions and won the 2011 Whatsonstage Award for Best Supporting Actor as Dr Harry...
, Richard Blackwood
Richard Blackwood
Richard Blackwood , is an English comedian, media personality, occasional actor and MC. Blackwood is step-brother of Naomi Campbell after his father was married to her mother for a time...
and Nigel Harman
Nigel Harman
Nigel Derek Harman is an English actor, most famous for his role as Dennis Rickman in the UK soap opera EastEnders. He has worked extensively in theatre, with the stage being described as his "first love"...
. Holden departed the show on 3 October 2011, ten weeks earlier than planned, to focus on her unborn child. She was replaced by Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London. They were created through the ITV1 talent show Popstars The Rivals in 2002. The group consists of Cheryl Cole , Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. They are signed to Fascination Records, a Polydor...
singer Kimberley Walsh
Kimberley Walsh
Kimberley Jane Walsh is an English singer-songwriter, dancer, model, television presenter and actress. She is best known for being a member of girl group Girls Aloud, formed through ITV's reality television programme Popstars: The Rivals...
.
Personal life
Holden married the comedian Les DennisLes Dennis
Les Dennis is an English comedian, television presenter and actor best known as the host of Family Fortunes for 15 years.-Early life:...
in June 1995. They had a temporary split in 2000 when Holden's affair
Affair
Affair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
with actor Neil Morrissey
Neil Morrissey
Neil Anthony Morrissey is an English actor, media personality and businessman. He is best known for his role as Tony in Men Behaving Badly....
was exposed in the press, before eventually separating in December 2002 and divorcing in 2003.
On 21 January 2006, Holden gave birth to her first child, Alexa Louise Florence "Lexi" Hughes with fiancé Chris Hughes. She married record producer Hughes at Babington House
Babington House
Babington House is a Grade II* listed manor house, located in the village of Babington, between Radstock and Frome, in the county of Somerset, EnglandConverted to a private members club and hotel by Nick Jones, it is currently owned by Soho House Ltd...
, Somerset, on 10 December 2008 with former Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
racing driver David Coulthard
David Coulthard
David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, , sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.Coulthard, who was born in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm, made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons...
acting as the best man. In early January 2011, Holden announced she was pregnant with a baby boy and that he was due to be born in March 2011. On 1 February 2011 her son was stillborn
Stillbirth
A stillbirth occurs when a fetus has died in the uterus. The Australian definition specifies that fetal death is termed a stillbirth after 20 weeks gestation or the fetus weighs more than . Once the fetus has died the mother still has contractions and remains undelivered. The term is often used in...
. She had previously suffered a miscarriage
Miscarriage
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
in May 2010. On 24 August 2011, Holden announced on Twitter that she was expecting a second baby girl.
Holden ran the London Marathon
London Marathon
The London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...
in 4 hours and 13 minutes on 13 April 2008, in the name of the Born Free Foundation
Born Free Foundation
The Born Free Foundation is a conservation and animal rescue organization in the United Kingdom. It originated in 1984 as the "Zoo Check Campaign" by actors Virginia McKenna and her husband Bill Travers along with their son Will Travers and four associates....
, having collected public and celebrity sponsors online.
Holden is a fan of Everton Football Club
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
and attends games when her work permits.
Holden fronted Everton's breast cancer awareness campaign, sporting a limited edition baby pink club shirt, the colour of breast cancer awareness. In September 2011, Holden was sponsored to bake a cake for every child in the Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children is a children's hospital located in London, United Kingdom...
.
Activism
Holden campaigned to keep a Sainsbury's out of Bishop's WalthamBishop's Waltham
Bishop's Waltham is a small town in Hampshire, England situated at the head of the River Hamble. It is home to the ruins of Bishop's Waltham Palace, an English Heritage monument.-History:...
. Residents of her hometown later accused her of a double standard in November 2010 when she signed a deal with Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
, the UK's largest supermarket chain.
Filmography
- The Door (2010)
- Out Of My Depth (2009)
- Big TopBig Top (2009 TV series)Big Top was a BBC television situation comedy series which first aired on 25 November 2009. The series was set in and around a travelling circus, aired on BBC One and BBC HD simultaneously. The series revolved around the performers and backstage staff of Circus Maestro. The first series consisted...
(TV series) (2009–2010) - Britain's Got TalentBritain's Got TalentBritain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
(TV show) (2007–present) - Wild at HeartWild at Heart (TV series)Wild at Heart is a current ITV television drama series about a Bristol-based vet and his family emigrating to start a game park in South Africa. The show premiered in January 2006 and has recently finished screening its sixth series...
(2006–2008) (TV series) - Mad About AliceMad About AliceMad About Alice was a British sitcom that ran during 2004 for six episodes. A sitcom which centres on the lives of a divorced couple and their young son. Despite no longer living together, Doug and Alice remain in close contact due to joint custody of their nine-year old son Joe...
(2004) (TV series) - 4:50 From Paddington (2004) (TV film)
- Eternal Rectangle (2003) (TV series)
- Ready When You Are, Mr McGillReady When You Are, Mr McGillReady When You Are, Mr McGill is a feature length TV drama, written by Jack Rosenthal. ITV produced two versions, in 1976 and 2003. The 1976 version was the first in a series of six single television plays called "Red Letter Days" each of which showed the events in a single, special day in...
- Celeb (2002) (TV series)
- Now You See Her (2001) (TV film)
- Happy Birthday Shakespeare (2000) (TV film)
- Hearts and BonesHearts and Bones (TV series)Hearts and Bones is television drama series, about a group of friends who move from Coventry to London, starring Damian Lewis, Dervla Kirwan and Sarah Parish which aired on BBC One in 2000...
(2000) (TV series) - The GrimleysThe GrimleysThe Grimleys is a nostalgic comedy-drama television series set on a council estate in Dudley, West Midlands, England in the mid-1970s. It was first broadcast by Granada TV for ITV in 1999, following a pilot in 1997, and concluded in 2001 after three series....
(1999–2001) (TV series) - Virtual Sexuality (1999) (film)
- Smack The Pony (1999) (TV series)
- Don't Go Breaking My HeartDon't Go Breaking My Heart"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" is a duet by Elton John and Kiki Dee. It was written by Elton John with Bernie Taupin under the pseudonym "Ann Orson" and "Carte Blanche" , and intended as an affectionate pastiche of the Tamla Motown style, notably the various duets recorded by Marvin Gaye and singers...
(1998) (film) - Kiss Me Kate (1998–2001) (TV series)
- Jonathan CreekJonathan CreekJonathan Creek is a British mystery series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. Primarily a crime drama, the show is also peppered with broadly comic touches...
(1998) (TV series) - Goodness Gracious MeGoodness Gracious Me (TV & radio)Goodness Gracious Me is a BBC English language sketch comedy show originally on BBC Radio 4 and later televised on BBC Two based on four British Indian actors: Sanjeev Bhaskar, Kulvinder Ghir, Meera Syal and Nina Wadia...
(1998) (TV series) - Intimate Relations (1996) (film)
- EastEndersEastEndersEastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
as Carmen (1994) (TV series) - Blind DateBlind Date (UK TV series)Blind Date is a British dating game show produced by London Weekend Television. An unscreened pilot was made with comic Duncan Norvelle as presenter but it was eventually hosted by Cilla Black, who already hosted the LWT series, Surprise, Surprise...
(1991) contestant