Exclusive: Why 50 is Amanda Holden's best decade yet - and mini skirts are here to stay

Amanda Holden's ubiquity shows no sign of waning. The original multi-hyphenate – an actress, Britain's Got Talent presenter and singer with a casual 2.5 million followers on Instagram –is also a firm fixture on our airwaves, courtesy of the Heart Breakfast radio show. 

The phrase "fifty is the new…" has never felt more apt, and Amanda is embracing all the opportunities coming her way. "I’ve had a very good career, but it's gone nuts in the past three years," she says.

"I left drama school and gave myself until 30 to make it, and although I was lucky, it happened way before then. It feels like I've only recently been discovered in the past ten years. If someone had told me at 21 that I'd have my best years in my fifties... First of all, I'd be like: 'Have I really got to wait that long?' But also:  'How bloody brilliant.'"

It's no surprise, then, that her most valuable advice is to keep going, without giving yourself deadlines. "What's great about this industry is that there isn't an age limit any more," she says.

"I just don't think age is a thing anymore," Amanda continues, as we move on to chat about her role as brand ambassador for Revive Collagen. "Just look at people like J-Lo [Jennifer Lopez] and Kylie, who are still strutting around in thigh-high boots, while my nan at the same age had a tight perm that made her look decades older.

"It's our generation of Seventies babies who break rules. Just because you're in your fifties doesn’t mean you can't wear a mini skirt. You're either in a mini or down to the floor – midi dresses should be banned!"

Cosmetic surgery confessions

Speaking of looking decades younger, despite wild speculation about cosmetic intervention, there’s no denying that the star looks great for her age.

"I think a lot of people think I've done a lot more than I have and always presume it's plastic surgery, but I've never gone under the knife," she says, tossing her hair for us to inspect her ears.

"The proof is in the pictures of me from back in the day. My eyebrows are in exactly the same place; we just have a bit more budget now," she laughs.

Unashamedly high-maintenance when it comes to her makeup and hair, Amanda is partial to treatments including daily NAD infusion injections – "It's amazing for energy, for brain fog, for everything," – and skin-tightening treatments such as Emface, plus the odd thing "to lift my ET neck". But she's more laissez-faire with skincare.

"I do everything wrong," she says, delighting in her love of wet wipes. "Luckily, I'm a firm believer in looking younger from the inside out, which is why Revive Collagen has been a staple in my life for the past five years."

Compelling stuff, although we suspect that the genetic lottery is also at play, after learning that her grandmother lived to the age of 97, while her 75-year-old mother has been bodyboarding (sans wetsuit) in Cornwall with Amanda's daughter Hollie, 13.