SHE knows it, we know it and so do the publicity people looking after her.
Amanda Holden is refreshingly honest in interviews.
But sometimes she sails close to the wind.
Like at the recent press launch for the third series of Wild At Heart, which starts on ITV1 this Sunday.
Amanda was discussing the incident last November when she, and her personal trainer, discovered a dead body while out running along the Thames towpath.
Reports of the sad find appeared in newspapers the next day.
“Can I just say, when they said I found a dead body, they said I was 39. I’m 36,” she told us.
“I was more traumatised by the fact they got my age wrong than the fact I’d found a stiff.”

LORD Longford was a remarkable man.
Regular readers will know that I’ve followed the aftermath of the Moors Murders case for over a quarter of a century.
As I wrote back in 2006, I spoke to Lord Longford countless times.
One morning I dashed to try and find him at Kings Cross station in London before he boarded the train north to see Myra Hindley in Durham jail.
I found him queuing on the concourse, where he agreed to an interview on condition I carried his bags on to the train.
He was a bright and compassionate politician who campaigned for Hindley’s release – a cause he could never win.
Whatever you think of his arguments, he had a right to a fair hearing.
Sadly, certain sections of the press were all too willing to whip up hatred against him.
I lost count of the number of stories published every year which were simply made up to suit the anti-Hindley agenda.

(Apologies – this archived content was mashed and photos lost when transferred from its original home on Movable Type to WordPress)

IT’S one of the best British films ever made.

Classic 1950s war movie The Dam Busters told a story of heroism and sacrifice against the odds.

It starred Richard Todd as Wing Commander Guy Gibson and Michael Redgrave as Barnes Wallis, inventor of the bouncing bomb.

Now a new version – Dambusters – is to be filmed, directed by Peter Jackson, with a screenplay by Stephen Fry.

I touched on the story in last month’s blog on Stephen here.

There’s also a flavour of the project in today’s MEN feature interview with Mr Fry – back this Sunday in ITV1’s Kingdom – here.

But for those interested in the production, here’s what Stephen had to say in full about Dam Busters, old and new:

“The Dam Busters is one of the best war films ever made – in its own way, perfect. And we will never unmake it by making ours.

MAX Beesley was sipping from a glass of milk at the launch of his new TV drama earlier this week.
“I’ve got a stomach ulcer,” he explained.
The Burnage-born Hotel Babylon star looks very different as bearded Afghanistan aid worker Michael Ezard in The Last Enemy.
Due on BBC1 next month, the five-part thriller is set in a near future where our every move can be tracked.
He said his false beard became irritable from the very first fitting in London, before filming on location in Romania.
“It was seven pieces and two hours in the make-up caravan – in 105 degrees heat at seven in the morning. It was really annoying, but perfect for the part.”
Did Max not want to grow his own beard?

GOOD reviews this morning for Sarah Parish in new BBC1 drama series Mistresses.
Her performance as GP Katie (pictured) was described as “excellent” by The Guardian and “reliable” by The Times.
The TV critics responsible for those reviews, along with another from the Daily Telegraph, weren’t so kind about the drama itself.
But then all three are men.
Personally, I think six-part series Mistresses is a highly watchable piece of entertainment, perfect for dark and gloomy January nights.
It also appears to be a hit, with 4.9m viewers making it the most watched programme on all the channels at 9pm last night.
Director and co-creator SJ Clarkson said: “We knew we would instantly be compared to shows like Sex And The City and Desperate Housewives, both of which I think are brilliant.
“However, we wanted to do something different.”
At the press launch for Mistresses, Sarah explained how Life On Mars director SJ had helped the four leading actresses with their roles.

IT’S time to call a halt to the spread of red across our screens.
I’m talking about TV dramas which insist on showing blood and guts in the operating theatre.
You expect it in something like Casualty, which has never been a natural home for the squeamish.
But then graphic operation scenes started turning up in cosy Sunday night favourite The Royal.
Producer Ken Horn says it’s what modern audiences expect and demand.
Really? At 8pm? Within earshot of The Antiques Roadshow?
Now comes The Royal Today – a 2008 teatime soap based in a modern day wing of the same Scarborough hospital.
And guess what? There’s lots of red stuff on display. At teatime. When viewers may well be toasting crumpets over the fireside.

MAXINE Peake isn’t one for an easy life.
She quit the role of Veronica in Shameless, for example, when others may have stayed.
“I never get too comfortable,” she told me when we met up recently.
This in an industry where competition for parts is terrifyingly fierce, even for someone like Maxine.
“I thought it would get easier as I got older. But it’s about doing the right thing. I’ve got to have a good reason to want to do a part.”
The Bolton-born actress is next on screen this Friday in Bike Squad, an ITV1 comedy drama about a group of cycle cops.

THE main TV channels hit the ground running in the first few weeks of 2008.
There’s always a flurry of new series as the New Year begins, but this time around the schedulers have gone into overdrive.
One of the first TV treats to look out for is a new Andrew Davies’ adaptation of Sense and Sensibility.
It starts on BBC1 at 9.10pm tomorrow night – New Year’s Day – with parts two and three screened over the next two Sunday nights.
I interviewed the cast back in November and wasn’t alone in being impressed with this latest version of Jane Austen’s novel.
David Morrissey leaves the underwhelming Cape Wrath behind to play Captain Brandon.
Charity Wakefield and Hattie Morahan shine as sisters Marianne and Elinor Dashwood.

TIME for a brief reflection on my TV highlights from the last 12 months.
I’ve spent part of this weekend looking back over my 2007 interviews and picking out some of the very best shows.
So, with clickable links:
Life On Mars: A TV classic and my programme of the year. Now comes the nervous wait for that first episode of Ashes To Ashes.
Cranford: A love letter to community with a brilliant screenplay and magnificent performances. Exquisite.
Heroes: Yatta! Innovative, surprising and huge fun. Save the cheerleader, save the world. Simple, when you think about it.
Strictly Come Dancing / It Takes Two: A TV phenomenon which managed to put The X Factor in the shade. Claudia Winkleman shone yet again on It Takes Two and is my presenter of the year.

THE day before Christmas and a return home for Green Wing star Darren Boyd.
He came back to Britain for good earlier this year after five years working in America and Canada.
And the former Kiss Me Kate and Smack The Pony actor arrived at UK customs with something extra special.
While out in the USA he married New Orleans-born TV producer wife Amanda.
“She’s here now. I imported her. We’re spending Christmas with my mum and dad,” he told me.
You can see Darren at 9pm tonight in ITV1’s big festive comedy Christmas At The Riviera, set in a seaside hotel.
He plays Tim, with Sam Kelly as father Dennis, on a poignant mission to scatter the ashes of Tim’s mum in Eastbourne.