Amanda Holden angers BBC bosses after breaching commercial guidelines with advert for her own interior design range

By SARAH ROBERTSON

Published: 22:39 GMT, 15 February 2025 | Updated: 22:43 GMT, 15 February 2025

Dressed in a boilersuit and armed with an electric drill, Amanda Holden has proved she can breathe new life into crumbling buildings in the BBC’s hit show Amanda & Alan’s Spanish Job.

But the star has got herself into hot water with the broadcaster – after appearing in a video to advertise her appearance on rival channel QVC wearing the same ‘Handy Mandy’ outfit from the renovation series.

The presenter, 53, posted the 30-second clip on her Instagram page on February 3 saying she would be on the shopping channel later that day to plug new products from her interior design range, BundleBerry. 

Armed with a toolbox and drill, she measures walls and hangs mirrors – mimicking the DIY jobs from the series – to the music from 80s show The A Team.

Her BBC co-star, comedian Alan Carr, commented on the video: ‘I recognise that boilersuit.’

But Ms Holden, who is also a judge on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent, was on Friday forced to remove the post by BBC bosses because it breaches the corporation’s commercial guidelines.

It is understood the presenter was ‘spoken to’ as a result of rules which forbid presenters from appearing in adverts linked to their TV roles.

The latest edition of the corporation’s rules state: ‘Actors and artists who perform in BBC output should not appear in promotional work, including advertisements, in a way which mimics or replicates their on-air roles for the BBC.’ 

Amanda Holden has got herself into hot water with the BBC after appearing in a video to advertise her appearance on rival channel QVC wearing the same ‘Handy Mandy’ outfit from the renovation series

Armed with a toolbox and drill, she measures walls and hangs mirrors – mimicking the DIY jobs from the series – to the music from 80s show The A Team

Her BBC co-star, comedian Alan Carr, commented on the video that he recognised the boilersuit worn by Ms Holden

Ms Holden – who launched her BundleBerry range in 2017 – labelled the post as an ‘ad’.

Her faux pas comes after a similar mistake made by DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles, who starred in an advert for breakfast cereal Shreddies as a jobbing builder in 2022.

Knowles, 62, was dropped from a special edition of DIY SOS and was also replaced by comedian Rhod Gilbert in a skit based on the show for Comic Relief as a result.

A BBC spokesman told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Amanda has removed her post and has been reminded of her responsibilities, as a BBC presenter, when using social media.’

They refused to comment on whether she could face similar sanctions to Knowles.

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Amanda Holden angers BBC bosses after breaching commercial guidelines with advert for her own interior design range

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