Britain's Got Saucy! Amanda & Alesha's Secret Pact

The feisty TV talent queens say they’re stronger together

- Natalie Edwards

When Britain’s Got Talent judges Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon are in the same room, bedlam and naughty-sounding cackles ensue. But it’s when the glamour girls emerge from behind the haze of hairspray to go in front of our camera that the fun really begins.

Getting them to stop gossiping is as tough as breaking up their on-set shenanigans, with Amanda playfully peeking down Alesha’s top. There’s no doubt these two are as tight in real life as they are on the judging panel of BGT, which crowns its 11th winner on TVNZ 1 this month.

Amanda, 46, has been a judge since the show launched in 2007 and when former Mis-Teeq singer Alesha, 38, joined in 2012, the Wild at Heart actress was determined the pair would be firm friends. “I couldn’t bear that everyone was going to try to pit us against each other as I’m a mother of two girls and love women,” says Amanda.

They certainly hold their own against fellow judges Simon Cowell, 57, and David Walliams, 45, but behind the scenes, they’ve both experienced devastating heartache.

Alesha – who has a three-year old daughter named Azura with dancer Azuka Ononye – grew up amid domestic violence and her marriage to rapper MC Harvey ended in 2006 when it was revealed he’d been unfaithful.

Meanwhile, Amanda – who is mum to girls Lexi, 11, and Hollie, five, with hubby Chris Hughes – suffered a miscarriage in 2010, before the tragic stillbirth of her son Theo. But both women say the misfortunes in their lives have only made them stronger.

AMANDA