7 Shows You'd Forgotten Emma Willis Used To Host As She's Tipped For Strictly Come Dancing

Emma Willis has now been a staple on British TV for more than 20 years.

The presenter is best known for hosting shows like Big Brother, The Voice and The Circle, and was recently introduced to a more international audience when she and her husband Matt Willis began presenting Netflix’s British iteration of the dating series Love Is Blind.

If rumours are to be believed, she’s since landed the biggest gig of her career, as she’s set to take over as the new host of Strictly Come Dancing, taking over from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.

But while you’ve probably watched Emma on some of the UK’s biggest reality shows over the years, there are plenty of other presenting gigs throughout her extensive resume you might have completely forgotten about.

Here are the ones we dug through the archives to find...

The Hot Desk (2008)

Emma got her start on music TV in the early 2000s, presenting segments for MTV as well as the UK version of the iconic TRL.

In 2008, Emma joined another British music show called The Hot Desk, whose other hosts included the likes of All Saints’ Nicole Appleton and Melanie Blatt, Laura Whitmore, Sarah Jane Crawford and Alice Levine.

At the end of each interview, the host would ask their celebrity guest to sign the “Hot Desk” with a pen (isn’t that just oh-so 2010s?).

One of Emma’s biggest interviews from that era was with a young and bright-eyed One Direction on The Hot Desk in 2011, a year after they came third on The X Factor.

Live From Studio Five (2010)

In the peak of 2000s gossip mags and celebrity interview panels, there were plenty of shows out there like Live From Studio Five.

Emma joined a line-up of co-presenters – including Brian Dowling and Ian Wright – who would conduct interviews and discuss topical issues, celebrity gossip and big news stories.

However it didn’t do too well with ratings, and ultimately came off the air after around a year and a half.

Girlfri3nds (2012)

Even as far back as 2012, Emma was clearly discovering that she had a bit of a knack when it came to reality TV.

She presented two seasons of this British show about single women looking for love, which saw three pals searching for their ideal guy out of 100 auditioning men. 

Prize Island (2013)

Emma co-presented this sunny series alongside Alexander Armstrong back in 2013.

Prize Island placed four pairs on an Island (obv) off the coast of Mozambique, with each team participating in rounds of games to uncover prizes, ranging from a TV to a luxury holiday.

At the time, there were reports that it might not air at all,after it looked set to rival (ironically) The Voice. The show ultimately only last six episodes across one season.

Prized Apart (2015)

Another oft-overlooked game show from Emma’s TV past was the ambitious Prized Apart.

Prized Apart saw two groups of adventurous hopefuls trying out assorted physical tasks in Morocco (overseen by Emma’s former The Voice co-host Reggie Yates), putting their teamwork to the test in the hope of landing a hefty cash prize of £100K.

After facing criticism due to its convoluted gameplay (not to mention its carbon footprint, as contestants were repeatedly flown backwards and forwards depending on how they’d performed in tasks) it was axed after one season.

The Brit Awards (2017)

Do you remember that time Emma hosted a whole Brit Awards? Honestly, we’d forgotten too.

Back in 2017 she took to the stage for the UK’s biggest night in music alongside co-host Dermot O’Leary.

Dermot and Emma were brought in as somewhat last-minute replacements when the night’s original host, Michael Bublé, was forced to back out due to his son’s illness.

That year’s Brits saw One Direction, Little Mix, The 1975 and more take home awards.

Emma Willis: Delivering Babies (2019)

This one marked a huge change for the presenter as she swapped reality TV and game shows for a hospital maternity unit.

Across the course of four seasons, she worked on a labour ward working NHS hours while training to be a maternity care assistant.

Whether she was making beds, cleaning floors or offering support during births, it made for pretty emotional viewing.

Strictly Come Dancing returns to our screens in the autumn.