Amanda Holden says daughters encourage her to ‘flash the flesh’ in daring outfits

Amanda Holden has spoken out against those who criticise her risqué outfits, saying her daughters encourage her to ‘flash the flesh’.

The Britain's Got Talent host has faced backlash in the past for her fashion choices - let's not forget the time her £11,250 dress received the most Ofcom complaints of 2017.

Fast forward to 2020 and her dress once again became the subject of unexpected scrutiny after viewers claimed they were able to see her nipples.

Ahead of her turn on the one-off ITV special Britain's Got Talent: The Ultimate Magician, which airs tonight (18 December) at 8pm, the 51-year-old star has hit back at some of the backlash she's received over the years.

Speaking to The Sun, she said: "Alesha (Dixon) gets away with wearing bikinis, but I don’t seem to. It’s bizarre.

"With shows where there are strong women on a panel, it’s sadly inevitable that they’ll be judged on what they’re wearing.

"Alesha and I are very different in terms of fashion - and I love that. I’m never going to stop wearing what I want.

"Everything is checked in my dressing room by an empowering female producer. I’ve not been told I can’t wear something... Yet!"

ITV

Now, for many teens and kids, seeing their mum in a skimpy dress might be too much embarrassment to handle.

But this isn't the case for Holden's daughters Hollie, 10, and Lexi, 16, who the host shares with her husband Chris Hughes.

When asked by the paper if she's ever asked by her offspring to stop 'flashing the flesh', she replied: "Never. My family are only ever encouraging.

"Lexi and Hollie see me trying on frocks all the time at home and are the ones saying: 'Go for it, Mum. We love that and you look great.'

"Fashion is about taking risks. I encourage everyone to have a little fun and be a little daring. I’d be bored playing it safe."

You can't argue with that, eh?

This isn't the first time Holden's spoken about the attention she receives for her outfit choices, having previously joked that her breasts have become so famous, they're going to write a memoir.

Speaking to Rylan Clark-Neal on BBC Radio 2 back in 2020, Holden said: "The girls have got their own management now. Isn't it ridiculous?

Instagram/Amanda Holden

"They're going to be 50 next year. They're celebrating separately from me. They have got a set of six friends that they want to see. So they're going off, they're doing their own thing to celebrate.

"I think there's a biography in the making for them. And I think they're also going to do An Evening With. I am separate from them now."

Joking aside, the TV judge said that she doesn't take the complaints that people make about her attire too seriously.

"You've got to take it with a pinch of salt," she explained.

"I think Britain's Got Talent holds the record of the most complained about show on telly, but it still does really well."