Simon Cowell no match for Amanda Holden

Amanda Holden has revealed that she had to learn to stand up for herself very quickly after signing up for new reality show Britain's Got Talent.

The Wild At Heart actress admitted that her fellow judges Simon Cowell and Piers Morgan accused her of not knowing what she was talking about until she put them in their place.

The ITV1 programme, which starts airing next Saturday, follows the search for a unique act to perform at the Royal Variety Show later this year.

"I sit between Simon and Piers Morgan, the former newspaper editor," Holden told the News of the World's Sunday magazine. "Simon is always getting ribbed by Piers for draping his arm around my chair. He has a certain magnetic charm but that's just the way he is - he loves it.

"But both of them try to wind me up. If I say something they disagree with, they go, 'What do you know, anyway?' But when I reply, 'I've been in this business for 15 years. I've auditioned, performed and acted. What do you know?' they soon shut up."