Amanda Holden and Alan Carr on renovating a rundown Sicilian villa for a Tv present

Television has specified us all manner of not likely sights about the years, and to that listing we can now add the graphic of Alan Carr and Amanda Holden making an attempt to wrestle a filthy mattress out of a rubble-strewn cottage. ‘The mess,’ Alan remembers now. ‘When I saw the litter – and the mattresses – I could have killed her.’

‘Her’ staying Amanda, who Alan retains accountable for this interiors horror. She was the a single who’d persuaded her outdated mate to enable her flip a derelict cottage in a distant Sicilian village into a attractive home. A wonderful notion on paper, notably provided that when renovated it would be bought to increase cash for British isles charities.

Regrettably, the reality was really hard to stomach. ‘Structurally it was in superior nick, but oh my goodness the condition of it,’ Alan shudders. What is far more, the bold task would unfold less than the watchful eyes of the Television cameras.

The final result is Amanda & Alan’s Italian Career: a new BBC collection that, reckons Amanda, is like a Mediterranean version of Spot, Location, Locale fuelled by fizz and entertaining. ‘It’s also the closest we have occur to a actuality display,’ she muses. ‘It’s a bit like The Only Way Is Sicily.’

Television has presented us all fashion of not likely sights in excess of the a long time, and to that listing we can now add the impression of Alan Carr and Amanda Holden (pictured) striving to wrestle a filthy mattress out of a rubble-strewn cottage

Admittedly, this may possibly not be quite what self-confessed design and style nut Amanda, 51, envisaged when, previously this calendar year, she read about Sicily’s ‘euro scheme’, a federal government challenge that allows men and women invest in a dilapidated home at a rock-base cost to help rebuild the neighborhood neighborhood.

But following coming up with the notion of obtaining stuck in and filming the benefits, she realized there was no one else she’d fairly do it with than fellow style fanatic Alan. ‘He’s 1 of the most down-to-earth individuals. On a display like this in which you have to be ready to get transformed any place, go to the toilet any where – we both have no moi, we just get on with it,’ she clarifies.

It will help that they’re genuinely close. ‘We just can’t truly remember when we initial satisfied, but we’ve had so quite a few dinners and know every single other’s people,’ provides Amanda, who has two daughters, Lexi, 16, and 10-12 months-outdated Hollie.

‘I’m like the exciting, gay uncle,’ Alan interjects.

Still they’ve under no circumstances labored collectively prior to, in section mainly because Amanda anxious they were being too equivalent. ‘I normally describe myself as a gay man in a straight woman’s entire body,’ she laughs. Alan, meanwhile, was curious about how they’d arrive throughout on screen jointly. ‘We have the exact cackle and I wondered no matter whether if we cackle together it may sound rather pleasant.’

Amanda & Alan’s Italian Career (pictured) starts off on Friday at 8.30pm on BBC1

Just after perusing homes on the web, Amanda experienced opted for a household now break up into two flats in the village of Salemi. Its hilltop location is idyllic, but the identical could not be mentioned of the property itself. The two experienced only previously found photos of it, and as viewers will find out, Alan is rendered momentarily speechless when they get there for the very first time to find mounds of rubble and filth.

‘It was thoroughly hands-on,’ Alan states. ‘Knocking down walls, tiling, grouting, plastering, we did it all. I know folks will think, “Right, they’re there for 5 minutes,” but we ended up there all working day each and every day.’

‘We’ve performed almost everything we ended up permitted to do,’ provides Amanda. ‘We’re not plumbers or sparkies, but we did our very best with everything else.’

We also get to see them discover this stunning island. There is a concentration on neighborhood craftsmen and deliver, not to point out its aperitivo. ‘The finest little bit of the working day was going for an Aperol Spritz at Fabrizio’s bar following a tough day’s operate,’ Alan confides.

By natural means there have been a good deal of issues together the way, from the danger of forest fires to… Amanda’s dad’s underwear. ‘He came and aided us at just one position as he’s a handyman, but he experienced a drama,’ suggests Amanda. ‘My mum had rinsed his trousers through for the reason that he’d run out, and she’d left them on the windowsill. A mini-twister blew them away!’

Then there was Amanda’s tries to matchmake for Alan, freshly one after his marriage to husband Paul broke down in January. ‘She was asking Italian males to go out with me – together with a person at the flea market who did not have numerous teeth,’ confides Alan, rolling his eyes.

Alan has spoken candidly in the previous of how the split remaining him emotion ‘raw’, and on the demonstrate Amanda confides to the cameras that she hopes the renovation will carry his spirits.

‘I want to give him a project that commences in tatters, like him, and at the stop there’ll be this beautiful building and Alan too will have had a bit of a makeover. Ideally he’ll sense a lot more optimistic about the long run,’ she suggests.

In the stop they had so substantially enjoyment they’re looking for comply with-up possibilities. ‘In Spain there’s a whole village up for sale,’ suggests Alan. ‘Or we could find a rundown vineyard or taverna.’

‘We could run it,’ exclaims Amanda. ‘It could be like Fawlty Towers. That’s what I assume we must do up coming.’

Amanda & Alan’s Italian Task starts on Friday at 8.30pm on BBC1.