Emma Willis' sweet reason for turning down the chance to be 'the new Holly Willoughby'

Emma Willis was reportedly in the running to replace Holly Willoughby on This Morning prior to Cat Deeley landing the job, but The Voice host turned the offer down for a very sweet reason

Emma Willis has quickly become one of the go-to TV presenters in recent years.

The 48-year-old is being touted alongside husband Matt Willis by their agent as the next big thing on the small screen. It comes after Emma has successfully hosted The Voice, while Busted star Matt won I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2006.

While they are set to come as a package, it was almost different for the pair until Emma boldly turned down an apparent approach. Emma, who has been married to Matt for 16 years and shares three kids with the musician, was reportedly approached to be the new face of This Morning following the exit of Holly Willoughby.

However, according to Mail Online, she rejected the offer as she wanted to remain as a duo with husband Matt. The couple were said to be so determined to work together that Emma turned down the chance to replace Holly full-time on This Morning, having joined a number of part-time presenters.

ITV bosses were reported to be desperate to keep Emma, but a pal told the publication the star couldn't bear to be away from her children Isabelle, 15, Ace, 13, and Trixie, eight. The source said: "She wants time with her family, and that's why she's taking every chance to work with Matt."

The basis behind the decision, according to the publication, was because of Matt’s relapse being allegedly triggered by loneliness. A pal claimed: “They are acutely aware Matt's last relapse was triggered by being alone and away from his family. Emma is keener than ever to work with him and keep him on the straight and narrow.”

Speaking at a panel earlier this month, Emma spoke about her motivations to engage in the couple's most recent project, a TV documentary for Channel 4 titled Swiped: The School That Banned Smartphones. "I am such a technophobe, so it felt like the perfect opportunity for me to learn about this world," Emma said. "None of us grew up with this, but they are, so my responsibility as a parent is to learn about the world that they are living in, because that is the only way I can help them navigate it."

Matt, who is the bassist for the hit band Busted, also described how the process had been an eye opener. He admitted he now considers it unsafe for devices to be in the hands of children. He said: “I cannot see any safe way of having this in a child’s pocket – and I didn’t go into this experiment thinking that. I thought we would just need age regulations on social media or something, but the more we go through this process, I cannot see any safe way or logical way for a kid to have a smartphone.”

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