Home is …
Just outside London, in Hertfordshire, with my family. However, my heart lies in Crouch End. Mainly for the convenience and the food.
Where was your first flat?
A shared flat on the Fulham Road, directly in front of the Chelsea ground, before the Chelsea ground looked like it does now. It was hell on match days. It was a very dated model agency flat where I lived with three other girls, in a 1960s block.
What was your first job?
As a model. I was 17 and I moved down in the summer holidays thinking I would be going back to school in September. I found myself in said flat on the Fulham Road and ended up staying. Thirty-three years later, I’m still here.
Where would you recommend for a first date?
It depends on whether you want an outdoorsy date or a dinner date, but I would go to Hampstead Heath and have a nice little walk around. Then I would go to a restaurant in Hampstead called Jin Kichi. It’s a super-traditional Japanese place, with a sushi bar, a few tables downstairs and a few upstairs. The food is fantastic. It’s where my husband Matt and I used to go on loads of dates.
What’s the best meal you’ve had?
There used to be a restaurant in Crouch End called Banner’s. If you were local, it was a hotspot, but people would also come from outside Crouch End just to go there. It had all these old music posters on the walls and the tablecloths were red-and-white checked. They did breakfast and they also served the most incredible jerk chicken with rice and peas. It was a real around-the-world menu. And I think, if I remember rightly, it even had a Bob Dylan table.
Who is the most iconic Londoner?
The most iconic Londoner, to me, is my husband Matt. He absolutely is. I don’t think you can get any better.
Where do you let your hair down?
My favourite place years ago, when I did used to leave the house, was the Arts Theatre Club on Frith Street. It’s tiny in there, and it was always very busy. They play music from the 1950s all the way through to the modern day. They gave it a little facelift and put in tables with lamps on them, and I always thought, “Oh, they’re going to get knocked over.” We would go there and then hop across the street to karaoke, which was at the back of a Japanese restaurant called Karaoke Box.
Who do you call when you want to have fun?
There are two people with whom I know I am going to have the most fun. And that is because I don’t have to do anything to have fun — they just entertain me so much. And that would be my friends Max and Dean.
What’s your biggest extravagance?
I’m quite sensible with most things, but when it comes to time away with my family, I’m all in. There is something really special about being away together with no work and no distractions. They are the memories we all end up talking about for years afterwards.
What’s your London secret?
Getting out first thing in the morning. Before the traffic, and before everyone’s rushing around, it feels like you’ve got the place to yourself.
What are you up to for work?
I’ve just come back from a 100km trek for CoppaFeel! with my best mate Giovanna Fletcher and more than 100 amazing trekkers.
I have very cold, sore bones and a screwed knee, but it’s all worth it to raise money for the charity and awareness of breast cancer, and to encourage everyone to check their chest.
What is your next project?
I’m preparing for Strictly Come Dancing this autumn. I am so excited to host it with Johannes Radebe and Josh Widdicombe.
What do you collect?
I don’t collect anything in particular but I do have an old, reclaimed chest with my initials on it, which Matt got me for Christmas. It’s my memory box, so I’ve got my wedding dress inside, the kids’ first haircuts, their baby teeth and wristbands from the hospital with “baby Willis” written on them.
What’s your favourite London beauty spot?
The Skin Sculpter, in Notting Hill, with an amazing woman called Guendalina Gennari. She does manual lymphatic drainage and massage on your face and body — she even puts her fingers in your mouth to relieve jaw tension. It’s a little bit painful, but my God, it’s incredible.
Emma Willis joined Giovanna Fletcher to complete the CoppaTrek! with Gi this summer, to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer charity, CoppaFeel! Donate at coppatrek-jurassic-coast.coppafeel.org
As told to Suzannah Ramsdale
