Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden has teamed up with relationship expert Paul C. Brunson for new Netflix series Cheat and they have strong views about relationships

Amanda Holden has been married since 2008 and her 20-year relationship with record producer husband Chris Hughes is rock solid, but she says hosting a show about infidelity has actually made her marriage even stronger.

The Britain’s Got Talent judge and radio host is fronting Cheat, a Netflix series which tries to repair long-term relationships that have been broken by affairs or one-night stands.

Alongside relationship expert Paul C. Brunson, Amanda, 54, follows eight couples whose relationships were torn apart due to infidelity.

And she says Paul’s advice is so good it can be applied to any couple, even those who are happily married. Amanda says: “I was in awe of Paul’s advice because it’s so brilliant and succinct. You can listen to it all day.” Joking, she adds: “So I was really nice to Chris when he came out to filming.”

Like herself, Paul is in a long-term relationship, and Amanda speaks for them both when she shares some good advice on how to keep the spark in a marriage.

Amanda, who has two daughters, Lexi, 19, and Hollie, 13, says: “We make time for our partners. So I think you have to set aside time. A lot of couples might only spend an hour a week together and that’s just sort of working logistics of school runs and school clubs and all the other stuff that comes with marriage and parenting. So, set aside time, if you can. Or spend a weekend with your partner without the kids is brilliant and what we do in my house.”

On Cheat, the couples are a long way from having a weekend away without fighting. In all of the eight cases, it seems to be the last chance saloon and a time for people to admit their mistakes.

Amanda says: “I think it was intelligent. It’s layered. It’s about trying to be as non-judgmental as possible and listening to both sides and having empathy for everybody involved. It’s very intense.

“It’s very raw. It’s people facing each other across a table that has a flame in the middle of it, so it’s very hot. And they have nowhere else to go but the truth. They have to look in their partner’s eyes, and it doesn’t matter how many hours it takes or weeks in some cases.

“The truth comes out. And then the truth can be dealt with and then you are in a really amazing place to deal with what you are going to deal with. Some couples do make it back to each other. And some couples don’t.”

Pointing at Amanda, Paul says: “You not only get tears from the couples, but from this one.” Talking of infidelity, he says: “It’s a topic that typically gets swept under the carpet, but it impacts everybody. This is one of the first projects to unpack that entirely. And then to explore all of the grey areas within it. What is cheating? Can you stay with a cheater? Once a cheat always a cheat?”

As the eight couples reunite at a retreat, each pair is guided through their issues in the hope they can face up to mistakes, rebuild trust and move forward.

Amanda, whose first marriage, to Les Dennis, broke down after she had a brief affair with actor Neil Morrissey, says: “It (cheating) is a sensitive topic and I think it’s a topic everyone can understand. It’s about good people who have made bad choices. Some of those people haven’t had the answer for 10 years. So, it was amazing to be part of that process and to witness the truth coming out.”

Amanda’s eldest daughter Lexi is a similar age to the younger participants on the show, but her mum says, thankfully, she does not have any of the same issues at the moment.

She says: “She’s all loved up. She’ll kill me for saying this but, yes, I am really happy that she’s at university and has found somebody. She can enjoy university from a completely different perspective now. I feel lucky in that she has formed a relationship with somebody. Obviously they are very young and everything else, but it’s lovely and he’s really nice and he’s got Daddy’s approval.”

Amanda says only some couples on the show make it and perhaps for others it is better to move on. She says: “It is about forgiveness. But it’s also about finding out if you can continue on.”

Cheat: Unfinished Business will be streamed on Netflix from Wednesday, April 30.

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