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In that frantic window of uncertainty, Cowell made a choice that many at the time considered a wild card. He turned to Amanda Holden. While she was a respected actress with a background in musical theater and television drama, she was not yet a household name in the reality TV circuit. Cowell’s reasoning was based on a gut feeling. He had found her to be sharp, devastatingly funny in private, and possessed of a thick skin that would allow her to trade barbs with him without losing her composure. It was a last-minute casting call that had no pilot, no screen test, and no room for error.
