Amanda Holden and Jamie Theakston ignite fury after revealing Halloween costumes inspired by real-life murder

Amanda Holden and Jamie Theakston have left people divided after dressing up as Lizzie Borden and her father's corpse for Halloween.

For those who are unfamiliar, Borden was an American woman who was accused of murdering her father and stepmother, Andrew and Abby Borden, in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1892.

However, she was acquitted and walked free thanks to a lack of evidence and an all-male jury who struggled to believe that a respectable, upper-class Victorian woman was physically capable of such brutal murders, with the victims being hacked to death with a hatchet.

It became one of the most infamous unsolved mysteries in US history, and more recently, the subject of Ryan Muprhy’s Monsters series on Netflix, with Ella Beatty taking on the role of the country's most infamous alleged female killer.

As part of their Heart Radio breakfast show, Holden and Theakston took to Instagram on Friday (30 October) to share a slew of photos of their controversial costumes.

Holden was dressed in Borden’s infamous blue dress from the Netflix show, holding an axe, with fake blood splattered across her face and clothes, while her radio co-star lay on the sofa, pretending to be her dead father.

Other snaps showed her hitting him with the axe, with some convincing prosthetics creating a gnarly red gash in his face.

The decision reignited the age-old debate of whether it’s appropriate to dress up as real-life killers and their victims, with one shocked social media user questioning: “Are we actually THAT desensitised??”

In her own personal post, Holden also included what appears to be an actual crime scene photo of Andrew Borden’s corpse, which has sparked further backlash.

A second social media user added: “This is not it, dressing up as non-fictional killers never sat right with me but to also put up the body of the victim is crazy.”

A third wrote: “It is absolutely f***ed up,” and a fourth agreed: “The actual crime scene picture, of the dead corpse of Mr. Borden?!!! Wow!”

A fifth penned: “I know! It's a bit much,” and a sixth quipped: “Wild putting the actual photo up, I can’t lie.”

Meanwhile, someone else chimed in with: “Was the dead person's crime scene photo necessary? I think we all understood what your costume is without the need for real proof of murder tbh.”

Another fan agreed: "Great Halloween outfit; however, I don't think posting the original photo of the deceased was a great idea... disappointing."

Others brutally quipped: "This isn’t it… an actual person died? A real person…" and "Ah yes, glorifying a murderer, next year go dressed as Fred and Rose West."

But not everyone was on the same page, and some fans were actually big fans of the costume, with one writing: "Love it, you look insane both of you."

A second agreed: "My full praise to you!!!! A-Maze-Zing!!!" and a third penned: "You both look absolutely amazing."

Tyla has contacted reps for Holden and Theakston for comment.