6 Shows You'd Probably Forgotten Emma Willis Used To Present Before Love Is Blind UK

The host of Big Brother and The Voice has been on our screens for longer than you might remember.
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Emma Willis is the new co-host of Love Is Blind UK
Tom Dymond/Netflix

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

The presenter is best known for hosting shows like Big Brother, The Voice and The Circle, and now she’s set to take on a new international challenge, co-presenting alongside her husband Matt Willis on Netflix’s UK iteration of Love Is Blind.

While you’ve probably watched her 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 (2008-2014)

Emma Willis 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, 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, they’d asked the featured celebrity to sign the “Hot Desk” with a pen (isn’t that just oh-so 2010s?).

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

Live From Studio Five (2010)

In the heyday of 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. The format saw three single women search for their ideal guy out of 100 auditioning men. 

It sounds like this was good practice for when she’d get the call from Love Is Blind all these years later.

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.

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.

The first four episodes of Love Is Blind UK are out this Wednesday, 7 August.