Amanda Holden struggled to hold back tears earlier today (Wednesday, October 9) when she received a call live on her Heart Breakfast show from a woman ‘who saved her life’.
Before her co-presenter JK revealed what was happening, he said that she simply had to press a red buzzer to reveal what the surprise was. To Amanda’s amazement, it was revealed to be her close friend and the woman ‘who saved her life’, Pippa.
After learning that Pippa was appearing on the show via video-call, Amanda couldn’t hold back her feelings as she began to weep. She said: “Oh don’t, because that just makes me cry straight away” before adding: “Oh Pippa, you’re actually there?”
Expanding on how exactly she knew the caller, Amanda explained to listeners: “Well, for anyone that doesn’t know, I met Pippa years ago when I was making a documentary about midwifery and we became friends from that,” reports the Mirror.
“But, thereafter she supported me through my very sad stillbirth that I had with my beautiful son, Theo and she’s basically been there for the whole thing and then when I had Hollie, that birth wasn’t an easy one either and she basically saved my life during the birth of my little girl Hollie that is now 12.
“So yeah, she is a friend for life and honestly anytime I’ve got an emergency or anything that happens to one of the girls or me, she is always the first person I call. She is like the light, the strength, she’s a good laugh, she can drink me under the table, I love her. But primarily she’s just got the answer to everything, always.”
As she listened to Amanda’s heartfelt tribute to her, Pippa was keen to spur her friend on as she is on the third day of her Big Ride To Work cycle for charity, as she makes her 250 mile trip across the UK: “I know you’ve got this Amanda. You are amazing, you’ll just get your head down, do the challenge and you know you’re doing so much good for other people and I know that’s what drives you.”
Having started her gruelling trip across the UK on Monday, Amanda began her journey from her mum’s house in Bude, Cornwall before passing through Somerset, Berkshire, Wiltshire and Surrey and eventually ending her ride on Friday at the Heart studio in London. The cycle is in aid of Heart’s official charity, Global’s Make Some Noise, that is hoping donations will help ‘change lives across the UK.’