When BBC chiefs were searching for the perfect candidate to replace Strictly’s departing hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, they were keen to find a wholesome star who was unlikely to cause them a headache.After three years of scandals almost destroyed the Saturday night dance show, bosses were ‘fed up and tired’ of having to deal with unflattering newspaper headlines and a string of complaints.It didn’t take them long to find their woman. With almost 25 years of experience in front of the camera, including presenting ITV’s The Voice and Channel 5’s Big Brother, Emma Willis is practically a broadcasting veteran.With her signature pixie bob haircut and gregarious nature, Emma is seen as the classic girl next door with a relatable family brand.As the wife of recovering alcoholic Matt Willis, formerly of boyband Busted – with whom she has three children – she’s viewed in her circles as the ‘perfect mum and wife’ who’s never put a foot wrong.And this is precisely how the BBC have promoted Emma, 50, in photographs and video clips where she is seen laughing with her new co-stars. Emma Willis, the BBC’s new Strictly Come Dancing host. With her signature pixie haircut and gregarious nature, Emma is seen as the classic girl next doorBut viewers who watched her make her debut on last Saturday’s launch show – and even some BBC bosses themselves – have little idea who she really is.If only they’d asked me. In fact, when I did tell one senior BBC executive about her past recently, he was absolutely gobsmacked.Because, back in the noughties, Emma – who started out as a model aged 15 – and I spent many a night at the same parties.Then a fledgling presenter on music channel MTV and known by her long-forgotten maiden name, Emma Griffiths, she was known for her late nights in the edgy north London enclave of Camden where MTV’s HQ was based.At the time she was dating trendy DJ and fellow presenter Alex Zane who hosted Channel 4 teen show, Popworld.The pair were regarded as a cool couple and would drink in the famous Hawley Arms pub which became synonymous with the late Amy Winehouse.Back then there were no mumsy trouser suits, but leather mini skirts, midriff-baring tight jeans and low-cut tops.One associate who knew Emma at the time tells me: ‘She loved the attention. She loved being this kooky, super cool girl who would party, party, party. She was, of course, very beautiful. Back then, she was a nobody, really, so her partying went under the radar.‘The men loved her… There was always an element to her that she came across as a bit of an attention seeker. She loved being written about, too.’ ‘The men loved her… There was always an element to her that she came across as a bit of an attention seeker. She loved being written about, too,’ a source saysShe was a regular in the tabloid gossip columns, sometimes even being known to happily participate in stories published in them.I would see Emma at various parties across London, and also once memorably in Lisbon in 2005 when, as a very young showbiz reporter working for another newspaper, I was sent to cover the MTV awards there.Word had got round that the bar at the city’s exclusive Four Seasons Hotel was the place to be the night before the event.Along with my fellow showbusiness journalists, I joined the party to find Chris Martin from Coldplay and Robbie Williams also in the throng. We all downed shots.Emma was there too. I watched as she and Robbie flirted outrageously. The following day I was told they had enjoyed a romantic rendezvous. ‘Robbie thought she was incredible,’ said a source at the time. ‘Emma seemed to love it, too.’ There are also other risque anecdotes which for legal reasons, I’m unable to divulge.So just how did Birmingham-born Emma, the daughter of a postman and NHS healthcare worker, make the transition from formidable party animal to poster girl for family values?One source familiar with the inner workings of her career credits her 2018 Channel 4 documentary, Emma Willis: Delivering Babies, as the turning point.Not only did the series introduce her to a new middle-aged audience, it allowed her to show more of her personality and draw on her own experiences as a mum-of-three.The hit show, in which Emma was often visibly moved, won her millions of fans. A source familiar with her career pivot told me: ‘It was such a clever move. At that point she won the hearts of ordinary women across Britain who saw her as a down-to-earth mum.’ As the wife of recovering alcoholic Matt Willis, formerly of boyband Busted – with whom she has three children – she’s viewed in her circles as the ‘perfect mum and wife’Emma had, of course, already made the move into terrestrial television – but initially still in ‘the youth market’.After leaving MTV she hosted the I’m A Celeb spin-off show for ITV in 2007 and 2008.But it was winning a role as the guest presenter of Big Brother’s Big Mouth that put her on the path to stardom.In 2013 she was dubbed the ‘new Davina McCall’ when she was announced as the host of the main show, then on Channel 5, alongside Rylan Clark.In 2014 she propelled her career further still by taking a coveted Saturday night prime-time role presenting The Voice on BBC, replacing Holly Willoughby.She held the role for ten years, and also co-hosted the Brit Awards alongside Dermot O’Leary in 2017. But even as her star rose, she was dealing with the trauma of being married to a drug and alcohol addict.Matt, seven years her junior, whom she married in 2008, has long been open about his struggles.She won praise for standing by him. In 2023 BBC documentary Matt Willis: Fighting Addiction was widely acclaimed as the couple discussed a cocaine habit which saw Matt snort six grams per day. Hailing his wife a hero, he said: ‘I thought she would leave me many, many times, and I was involved in some of those times when people were saying that. I’m so grateful she didn’t and that she could see something in our relationship that was worth holding on to. And it was – we have three kids, and we’re very happy.’A year later the husband-and-wife team fronted a powerful two-part documentary for Channel 4, Swiped: The School That Banned Smartphones to explore the effects of the devices on children.The couple, who moved out of London to rural Hertfordshire several years ago, proved such a successful double-act that they were hired to host the cult Netflix dating show Love Is Blind UK.A clutch of highly paid ambassador roles with the likes of Vodafone, Oral-B and Vinted have completed Emma’s transformation from wild child to bankable family star. Tonight she’ll face her greatest challenge yet as she hosts Strictly live for the first time along with co-presenters Johannes Radebe and Josh Widdicombe.Despite the ratings for last week’s pre-recorded show being slightly up on last year, the trio have not escaped criticism, with some commentators asking why three presenters are even needed.But I’m told Emma relishes the opportunity to prove herself once more. ‘Anyone who knows Emma knows she’s a very optimistic and positive person,’ says a friend.The BBC will hope that her instinctive positivity will continue to attract the six million viewers the show is so desperate to cling on to.