When two of the country’s most glamorous presenters, Myleene Klass and Emma Willis, arrived at the super trendy Cotswolds food jamboree Big Feastival, photographers went into a tailspin.
A shot of them smiling together or linking arms would have been a guaranteed money spinner as well as providing great publicity for the event, organised by former Blur bassist Alex James at his farm in Kingham, Oxfordshire.
But it wasn’t to be. Sources have told me that, instead of hugs and kisses, Myleene, there with fiancée Simon Motson, and Emma, on the arm of her singer husband Matt, studiously avoided one another.
Since that cold shoulder in 2021, I’ve been told that the women ‘do not get on’, despite having an army of mutual friends and moving in similar showbusiness circles.
Awkward, particularly as they appear to have so much in common. Both have presented ITV’s This Morning and both were named as contenders to replace Holly Willoughby when she stood down from the show in 2023. They also live a stiletto’s throw from each other in north London – quite the problem when you cannot stand one another. To cap it all, now they are to go head to head as Britain’s two most high-profile female Saturday radio presenters.
As host of her own Radio 2 daytime show after replacing Zoe Ball, Emma, 49, is slated to make her debut next Saturday – having had to pull out of yesterday’s expected launch after falling ill.
Emma Willis is slated to make her debut on the Radio 2 daytime show, after replacing Zoe Ball, next Saturday – having had to pull out of yesterday’s expected launch after falling ill
Myleene, 47, who rose to fame on ITV’s Popstars in 2000 becoming a singer in Hear’Say, hosts her show on rival Classic FM – a gig she’s held for 18 years. Each Saturday afternoon, she is seen arriving at Global Radio’s central London HQ near Leicester Square dressed to the nines – just as Emma’s show is set to air from 1pm to 3pm.
At least the two aren’t in the same building, with Emma a mile away in Broadcasting House, but it’s unlikely Myleene will be tuning in for inspiration as she pre- records her programme, which airs from 10pm until 1am.
While Emma is preparing for her debut, Myleene yesterday posted a holiday selfie – recreating her I’m A Celeb shower scene from 2006 when she appeared on the ITV series – ironically alongside Emma’s husband, ex-Busted singer Matt. He won the competition while Myleene was second. Alongside the photo, the mother of three wrote: ’20 years ago, my name became a verb. ‘Doing a Myleene’. I’ll be eternally grateful for that moment in the Australian jungle. Honestly, that white bikini has put my kids through school.’
One source said: ‘Myleene and Emma cannot stand one another. It can get very awkward given the celebrity circles they move in are very small. People have had to take sides over their fall-out. Now we are set for a bit more rivalry.
‘They are so very different. Myleene is a lot more out there – Emma would never dare pose in a bikini. Emma likes a quieter life, Myleene loves to be talked about.
‘Perhaps that’s part of why they don’t get on. Whatever it is, it’s all very nasty.’
One factor could lie in the fact that Myleene’s nemesis Rochelle Humes is a close friend of Emma’s. Along with her husband Marvin, Rochelle, 36, was a guest at Emma and Matt’s vow renewal party in 2018, which coincided with their tenth wedding anniversary.
And Emma was at Rochelle and Marvin’s nuptials at Blenheim Palace – Winston Churchill’s birthplace – in July 2012.
Myleene and Rochelle openly despise each other, a feud thought to have begun when the former Saturdays singer took Myleene’s ex-husband Graham Quinn’s side after their bitter divorce in 2012.
Last August, the Humes had a holiday in Ibiza to celebrate their 13th wedding anniversary and were seen dining with Graham – father of Myleene’s daughters Ava, 18, and Hero, 15 – in pictures posted by the couple on Instagram.
It came just days after Myleene said that she had found Graham in a compromising situation with another female celebrity who she claims has built her career on her family brand. She told Paul Brunson’s podcast, We Need To Talk, about the incident at her birthday party in 2011 which resulted in her ‘kicking’ everyone out. There is no suggestion the woman was Rochelle.
Myleene Klass posted a holiday selfie yesterday – recreating her I’m A Celeb shower scene from 2006 when she appeared on the ITV series with Emma Willis’s husband Matt
Myleene taking a shower in a waterfall on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2006
‘I walked in on him with a famous person, on a balcony,’ she said. ‘I’m in my house, it’s my party. They weren’t having sex but they were unzipping each other.’ Myleene never named the celebrity, and sources tell me the woman has fired off a legal letter insisting she should never do so, for privacy reasons. But Myleene has admitted her life ‘broke’ afterwards.
It is not known whether relations are now strained between Emma’s husband Matt, 42, and Myleene.
They haven’t been in the past. After appearing on I’m A Celeb, they formed a friendship along with co-stars including Jason Donovan. They were seen at showbusiness events together, including at the now-defunct British Comedy Awards and at the launch of the first Schools Top 10 chart as part of National Music Week 2006.
‘Emma and Myleene would have definitely met in the past,’ says a source. ‘In fact, Emma flew out to Australia when Matt won the jungle… so they would have spent time together, surely. What has happened since is a mystery.’
A mystery that almost certainly won’t be played out over the airwaves but will surely have both desperate to come out on top.
