Amanda Holden laughs off Ofcom dress drama and says she will wear a polo neck for BGT performance

Her racy gown on last week’s show sparked 235 Ofcom complaints and led viewers to question whether she had suffered a wardrobe malfunction.

Yet Amanda Holden has laughed off the drama and revealed she will be wearing a polo neck on Saturday’s episode of Britain’s Got Talent.

The judge, 49, is set to give a stunning performance of Sweeney Todd’s Not While I’m Around from her new album Songs From My Heart, which has already sold out on Amazon following its release on Friday.

Discussing the backlash to her recent gown and Ofcom complaints in a new exclusive interview with MailOnline, Amanda laughed off the drama and joked her breasts need their ‘own representation’.

Teasing her outfit for Saturday’s show, the talented star quipped: ‘I’m wearing a dress that goes down to the end of my arms and up to the top of my neck!’

Amanda added that she wants the attention to be on her performance and jokingly added: ‘Not on my breasts!’

Although the star cheekily teased: ‘Although you very clearly see them as obviously it’s a tight-fitting dress!’

Discussing the recent furore over her outfit on Saturday’s show and the 235 Ofcom complaints it has received, Amanda said she has used her ‘sense of humour’ to deal with the backlash. 

Following Saturday’s show, some fans claimed on Twitter that Amanda had suffered a nip slip in the look and she took to Instagram at the time to shut down speculation. 

In her typically tongue-in-cheek humour, the singer joked to MailOnline that she was more insulted that people thought she had ‘huge saucepan nipples’.   

The star explained that she has her own ‘committee’ of people that come down to check on her outfits before a show and she said that her racy gown had passed.

Although being mindful of viewers’ opinions, Amanda admitted that she ‘can see what people think’. 

Amanda had worn a plunging navy gown with a daring thigh-high which had a built in underwire on the bust.      

The Heart radio presenter said: ‘I can see what people think, it had a like an underwire, you know when you have an underwire bikini or bra, the end of it it’s like an upside down U isn’t it. The end of it dug in.

‘I was more insulted that people thought I had either huge saucepan nipples or nipples over my cleavage.’ 

Joking about how much attention her breasts and racy ensembles get, Amanda quipped that they need their own representation and will be going on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories.

She said: ‘I am seriously thinking my girls need separate representation to me, because they are known on their own. They don’t need me, they’re going to go off and do Piers Morgan’s Life Stories on their own next year! 

‘They’re going to do their own album, they’re bringing out their own autobiography – The Truth Behind The Bra!’

Amanda also admitted that she is filled with anxiety over her performance on Saturday and said although she misses head judge Simon Cowell, who is currently absent as he recovers from a broken back, she is relieved he isn’t watching.

She said: ‘Oh my God, well I’ve woken up with anxiety every single day this week and Alesha [Dixon] has been so encouraging and David [Walliams] unusually has not been as sarcastic or trying to find funny ways. 

‘He’s like, “It’s going to be great, you’re going to be great,” and Ashley [Banjo] obviously is so wonderfully strong and encouraging. 

‘I said this on the radio this morning, I love him and miss him like crazy, but I’m glad Simon is not going to be there because I think my nerves would be triple what they actually are. 

‘So yeah I’m looking forward to it so people can see me do it, live, and it’s live, live! So it’s you know, it will be great to sort of people didn’t know that’s what I started out like they will have a nice surprise, hopefully, a nice surprise.’

Amanda added that the album is deeply personal and emotional to herself, and her family, with husband Chris Hughes serving as an executive producer, and daughter Lexi, 14, even getting involved.

The star, who joked it should have been called ‘Songs On One Leg’ as she recorded it while recovering from a broken leg, said: ‘Every single song means something to me and means something to our family, there’s a really poignancy behind everything. 

‘It’s not all been dogged out there, it’s like a boutique hotel, it’s not a chain, it’s a boutique hotel. Everything has been really thought about.’

Elsewhere during the chat, Amanda also spoke about Diversity’s Black Lives Matter inspired performance during the show’s first semi-final, which attracted 24,500 complaints to Ofcom.

ITV has ‘stood with Diversity’ as they featured adverts in national newspapers in support of the controversial dance while Ofcom announced they will not investigate the complaints any further. 

Amanda said she is ‘enormously proud’ of fellow judge Ashley, who is the lead dancer and choreographer of Diversity, and says she stands with him, the group and ITV. 

Diversity’s routine, which narrated the killing of unarmed black man George Floyd in May, polarised fans of talent show due to its overtly political stance.  

She said: ‘With the Diversity thing we stood side-by-side with Ashley and we obviously saw the performance in rehearsal and immediately felt proud of him and knew it was going to make an impact. And it did!

‘I’m sad people just thought about the one thing, you know the very sad incident in America, because it celebrated the NHS and actually out sense of community, which everyone has gained from this year. 

‘But I’m very proud that ITV stuck their neck out and put the advert up, that was absolutely the right and strong thing to do. To knock all the negativity on the head.’

Amanda added: ‘We saw hundreds and thousands of amazing comments and amazing people agreeing and saying what a wonderful thing to do. 

‘I think a family show is the right platform to start a conversation and I think entertainment can’t always be comfortable if it’s going to educate us and make us think outside the box and make us start a discussion. I think it’s good. 

‘I just don’t want to have this conversation in five years, I just want it to be the norm. I’ve had huge conversations with Alesha about it, who is very strongly opinionated about it all.’

Amanda added that more needs to be done in and out of the entertainment industry, she said: ‘It’s about changing the scenes behind-the-scenes and educating the heads of departments of every industry, not just the entertainment industry.

‘Making sure that people in every single role of the work place are diverse so that we have a real and proper sense of our country and the amazing diversity that Great Britain reflects.

‘I think as a nation we are a fantastic, open, welcome and tolerant country and so I stand by Diversity and I stand by ITV. I just felt enormously proud of Ashley Banjo for doing it really and making his mark in the sand.’

Amanda added that it has been ‘wonderful’ having Ashley on the judging panel, he has temporarily replaced Simon Cowell.  

She said: ‘We’re all very close, it’s been wonderful having Ashley there, I think he’s added a completely new dimension and he’s just such a bright man, so candid in all of his judging, he’s been a real asset to the show.’  

Elsewhere during the interview, Amanda credited her husband Chris for supporting her with her new album and sweetly said he is the only person who she ‘really and truly trusts’.

She said: ‘Chris has been massively supportive and it’s just been, I’m a lady of a certain age, so this is not something I was feeling going to happen today… so it’s amazing.’

Chris worked as an executive producer on the album and Amanda said she has enjoyed working with him.

She said: ‘He’s the only person who I really and truly trust the opinion of when it comes to this sort of stuff and with lots of stuff in my career.

‘He’s really level headed, very bright and a good manager behind-the-scenes, this is the industry he worked in and has produced loads of albums. Executive producer, I should say, so it’s his playing ground. 

‘What has been lovely for me is seeing him in action, he gave up this part of the industry years ago really when music became a less viable platform to make a good living. He has just come into his own, he’s absolutely brilliant at it.’ 

Reflecting on the past year and the coronavirus crisis, she added: ‘I hope, I think after the year we’ve had, it’s a really lovely album to kind of look back and reflect and hold on to tight to ones around us. 

‘I think if it’s taught us anything, it’s to prioritise our loved ones and families. Be grateful for everything we have, what else is going on, hopefully it’s music that will make people reflect and just realise it’s been a terrible year but we’re very lucky.’ 

Amanda revealed that she and Chris are going to celebrate the album launch by going out for dinner and driving to see billboards of the campaign.

She excitedly said: ‘It’s exciting for me as it’s such a novelty, I feel like a competition winner!’  

Amanda’s new album, Songs From My Heart, has already sold out on Amazon and is also available to purchase in supermarkets.