I'd kill Simon Cowell if he fired me'

Mum, TV totty, bride-to-be - Amanda Holden relishes many of the roles she's playing in her life right now, not least her coveted place on the Britain's Got Talent judging panel.

"I love the job, and being the girl between Simon and Piers," she says of her fellow co-judges, Messrs Cowell and Morgan. "I'd be gutted if Simon wheeled out another judge. I'd kill him."

It's this defiance, this spirit, this wicked sense of humour, that's marked 37-year-old Amanda out as one of our hottest TV stars. And she's much loved for her honesty, too. "Cosmetic surgery? I'm all for it!" she laughs. "But not yet," she qualifies, denying that she's had a helping hand in achieving her enviably smooth complexion. Instead Amanda attributes her youthful glow to airbrush foundation and the talents of her make-up artist, rather than to Botox.

"I intend to have everything done when the time's right - nipped, tucked, you name it," she says. "Sharon Osbourne is a real inspiration to me. "The only thing I want to avoid is breast implants because I'm a size 8 and could overbalance and fall flat on my face! "But I will get my boobs lifted if they head towards the floor."

At the end of the year, Amanda will marry her record-producer fiancé Chris Hughes, with their daughter Lexi, two, as bridesmaid. It's a union that Amanda says is for life. "I can see us growing old together, except I won't look old. He'll be grey and I'll be like Joan Rivers!" she laughs.

Jokes aside, Amanda's nuptials are a big deal. "It's going to be a massive party with all the people we love," she says. But despite the fuss, Amanda believes she and Chris sealed their love when they started a family. "We're already bound together by Lexi," she says. "I believe I loved Chris with all my heart before, but when he became a dad, I loved him even more because it showed a different side of his personality," she says. "I knew he'd be great with Lexi because he's very loving, but I didn't expect him to be so practical about things like nappies."

Amanda was married for seven years to TV comic Les Dennis, 53, who recently revealed to the News of the World his heartache at her fling with actor Neil Morrissey, 45. That subject is off-limits, although she's happy to reveal the domestic details of life with Chris. For instance - and this may make your party nibbles stick in your throat - Chris says her toes look like fat little cocktail sausages and sometimes grabs them and pretends to eat them.

Happily almost-married, slim, wrinkle-free, successful and ambitious: if Amanda Holden wasn't such a good laugh, she'd probably be at the top of our hit list. She's super-fit as well. Grr.

Next Sunday she'll be running the London Marathon in aid of the Born Free Foundation, which helps protect threatened species. "I've put on a few pounds because I've gained muscle and my appetite is enormous," Amanda explains. "But I do feel fit. My personal trainer, Gareth, has the best attitude. "I went to New York recently and did nothing but drink frozen tequilas and go shopping, and he said: 'That's fine. "If you carried shopping bags up Fifth Avenue, that was exercise." She intends to tap Piers and Simon for sponsorship.

In fact, surely Simon owes her a big donation to make amends for speculating that Dannii Minogue would be better in bed than Amanda. Would she like to comment? "No. And he's certainly never going to find out. "I don't want to think about Simon or Piers in bed, but Simon's got charisma. Women are drawn to him. "When he walks through the audience, they react as if he's the Pope," she says.

So after two months of auditions, scouring the country for acts for the show, does she feel depressed or impressed by the contestants' wackier side? "Impressed," she says. "I love the fact that we are a nation of eccentric nutters. "I love the fact that people have the balls to go out and perform, and have a sense of humour. "The highlight for me was the escapologist who couldn't get out of his sack and spent 10 minutes staggering about on stage covered in chains before we had to get him cut free by the Red Cross! "It could only happen in Britain."

And that's exactly why she loves it. "I could never live anywhere else. The only bad thing is the p***y weather. And the transport system."

When it comes to keeping hold of the TV job she loves, we say Amanda should follow the lead of her idol, Sharon Osbourne: keep slapping down 'the boys', shed the odd tear, and start the cosmetic overhaul as soon as she fancies it. That way, her seat should be safe for at least another decade.

Photography: Rex; Hair and Make-up: Jessica Taylor

• Simon Cowell's TV debut

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