'CUSHIONS LED TO A BREAKDOWN!'

Pals Amanda Holden and Alan Carr on donning their hard hats for a new property programme with a difference in sunny Sicily

- FRAN WINSTON

Last summer Amanda Holden turned her Instagram followers green with envy when she posted stunning images of a trip to southern Italy.

But the Britain’s Got Talent judge wasn’t enjoying a sun-soaked getaway. She was, in fact, embarking on a gruelling renovation project alongside her close pal, the Chatty Man himself, Alan Carr.

Incredibly, the pair bought two apartments in the sun-kissed hills of rural Sicily for a mere €1 each, and they spent the summer doing them up. With the properties due to be auctioned off for Children In Need this year, there was a lot of pressure to do an outstanding job to ensure they raise as much money as possible.

The €1 homes are part of a scheme to regenerate the area. However, having only seen a photograph of the apartments before they arrived, the pair were shocked to discover it was a much bigger project than they first imagined. Both properties were in a dilapidated state and Alan, 46, is keen for viewers to know he and Amanda, 51, did actually roll up their sleeves.

“I know there’s a cynicism and people think that we’re there for five minutes with the cameras and then we go,” he says, “But honestly, we were there all day cleaning them out – and there was poo up the walls!”

Short of huge jobs that required a qualified pair of hands, the duo got as involved as they could.