Amanda Holden says Britain's 'going backwards' with perceptions of sex

Amanda Holden says Britain is ‘going backwards’ with its perceptions of sex as she reveals she filmed a sexy toga scene in winter for new Sky show

Amanda Holden has said she thinks that Britain is going backwards instead of forwards when it comes to its perception of sex.

The 52-year-old is fronting a brand new show from Sky and the History Channel called Sex: A Bonkers History, alongside historian Dan Jones.

The pair will explore how attitudes towards sex and sexuality have evolved from the origination of the first contraceptive in ancient Egypt to swinging in 70’s suburban Britain. 

In a Q&A at a screening ahead of the show’s launch, Amanda said she felt that there was ‘more freedoms and less judgement’ back in the day.

She said despite society thinking we have come a long way, people were still ‘frightened to speak’ about many things. 

Having her say: Amanda Holden has said she thinks that Britain is going backwards instead of forwards when it comes to its perception of sex

New series: The 52-year-old is fronting a brand new show from Sky and the History Channel called Sex: A Bonkers History, alongside historian Dan Jones

Saucy: The pair will explore how attitudes towards sex and sexuality have evolved from the origination of the first contraceptive in ancient Egypt to swinging in 70’s suburban Britain (Amanda and Dan Jones pictured Monday)

She explained: ‘Personally, I feel like even though we think we’re going forwards, I feel like we’re going backwards. 

‘I think when people say conversations are being started, they’re actually being stopped because I think lots of people are frightened to speak on every aspect of everything.’

Amanda went on: ‘There’s so much to celebrate now, so much. And yet when you look back and you see, obviously there’s all the politics, everything else in all the other eras that we haven’t covered in. 

‘But I think there were loads more freedoms and less judgement then, than there is now. This is just a wheel that just keeps on turning.

‘I think that’s the biggest lesson that we’ve learnt from this is that we’re just on that same wheel and we’re just coming into the next bit, and then we’re coming into the next bit.

‘So every time we think we’ve gone forward we are always going to step back, and that’s true of absolutely every era that we’ve covered.’

Discussing the show, Amanda revealed that she had been so dedicated that she tried on a toga during one of the coldest months of the year.

She recalled: ‘I really loved learning about the Spartans personally and the wafty outfits… in Crystal Palace. 

Moving backwards: In a Q&A at a screening ahead of the show’s launch, Amanda said she felt that there was ‘more freedoms and less judgement’ back in the day

‘They told me it was going to be somewhere much more exotic. One of the main reasons I took the gig and they took me off to Crystal Palace!’

She complained: ‘It was November I put that toga on! From ASOS!’

It comes after her co-host Dan told Televisual about the variety of topics covered in the show.

He said: ‘Sex is the one thing we can be certain human beings have done throughout the whole of history.

‘It’s a fascinating way to take a romp through the millennia, from the Ancient Egyptians to swingers in the 1970s, and up to the wonders of the digital age we live in today.’ 

He even spoke highly of his co-host: ‘Amanda is a dream host – she’s a great laugh’.

Amanda chimed in add: ‘Believe me when I say our generation knows nothing about sex compared to the debauched antics of our ancestors!

‘My goodness, I’ve really had my eyes opened and had a real laugh during the filming of this brilliant new series.

Exploring: The series will use archive footage and drama reconstruction, with Amanda and Dan taking the leading roles to shed light on history’s best unknown sex stories

‘I have left it to Dan Jones to get his hands dirty whilst I’ve been on the side-lines as a very entertained voyeur.

‘Although perhaps shocking at times, Sex: A Bonkers History is a truly fascinating and intellectual insight into the last 2500 years of our sexual history. This is horrible histories for grown-ups.’

The series will use archive footage and drama reconstruction, with Amanda and Dan taking the leading roles to shed light on history’s best unknown sex stories. 

Along the way they will discover how the Tudor sexual appetites changed the course of British history forever, and they will delve into Georgian Britain to discover that its prim and proper facade couldn’t be further from the truth.

The pair also reveal how the Victorian era was secretly one of the most sexually progressive in the world.

Lastly, they discover that sexual attitudes in the 20th century have changed more than in any other period in history and that this rate of change only continues to accelerate.

Viewers can also expect to hear from sex experts such as Dr Kate Lister, author of A Curious History of Sex and the late executive chair of Ann Summers, Jacqueline Gold.

Sex: A Bonkers History begins on Monday 18th September at 9pm on Sky History. 

Revealing: Amanda added: ‘My goodness, I’ve really had my eyes opened and had a real laugh during the filming of this brilliant new series’

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