The Voice’s Emma Willis: “Olly’s a little s**t!”
The Voice presenter Emma Willis opens up about juggling her career with motherhood – and talks backstage pranks with show coach Olly Murs
She’s arguably one of the hardest-working women in showbiz, presenting Big Brother until its series finale in November 2018 as well as hosting The Voice – which returns to our screens on 6 January. And Emma Willis admits that despite her polished appearance, finding a balance between her manic work schedule and family life with musician husband Matt Willis, 35, and their children, Isabella, nine, Ace, seven, and Trixie, two, can be exhausting.
SHEDDING A TEAR
“I get really knackered, look at me!” laughs Emma, 42. “Every day I feel tired. I film The Voice in Manchester and I think to myself it’s like a holiday because I’m out of the house for a week and I’ll get a good night’s sleep, but I never sleep well in a hotel. Hotel rooms are either really cold or really hot and I don’t like the cold, so I leave the heating on and then I wake up in the morning looking like a pufferfish!”
The Voice is renowned for emotions running high – with Emma often shedding a tear as she comforts contestants and their families. But she insists she enjoys some much-needed humour backstage courtesy of show coach and long-term pal Olly Murs.
She says, “Olly’s my good friend. I’ve known him for a long time and we’ve been drunk together a few times. That always breaks the ice. He’s a little s** t, though, and plays pranks on me. He hid in a cupboard once and jumped out on me!”
The start of a new year would usually see Emma juggling the singing competition alongside hosting duties on Big Brother, but she admits she’s still feeling sad after the iconic reality show came to an end last year.
BELIEVING IN FATE
She says, “I’m a huge fan of Big Brother and have been since before I worked on it. It’s hugely disappointing, but I do believe everything happens for a reason. I always try to think that it’s hopefully a good thing in one way or another – whether that’s because it needed to end, or because it needs a break, or perhaps it’s better off in different hands. Who knows? Only time will tell.”