Emma Willis may have the kind of job that many dream of, but the TV presenter and former model has always been keen to pursue a career in midwifery.

So, when she was offered the chance to work on a new project – which will see her based in a maternity ward – Willis was quick to seize the opportunity.

Announcing the news on Twitter, the Big Brother presenter wrote: “I’ve been so excited to announce this, [as] experiencing what it’s like to be a midwife is a dream come true.”

Willis added: “If I wasn’t doing my current job, I would have loved to work in a hospital.

“Blood, guts and the workings of the body have always fascinated me. Both my parents worked in hospitals and so it’s literally in my blood.

“I can’t wait to dive right in and fully immerse myself in a busy maternity ward alongside the truly incredible midwives and nurses who work there day in day out.”

The show (which is aptly titled Emma Willis: Delivering Babies), will see Willis swap her day job for gruelling 12 hour day and night shifts in a busy hospital.

Dressed in medical scrubs, as opposed to her usual high-fashion garb, the presenter will be seen doing everything from admitting pregnant women on to the ward, taking blood pressure and assisting during births.

However, fans of Willis needn’t despair: she isn’t packing in her telly career to become a full-time midwife just yet.

If she did, though, it would require a lot of work, as training to be a midwife often involves studying for a degree in midwifery, although there are some cadet schemes in place, too.

The NHS careers website explains: “As there are no national minimum academic entry requirements for entry into pre-registration midwifery degrees, each university running courses sets its own criteria. However, they usually look for a minimum of five GCSEs at grade C or above - typically including English language or literature and a science subject - and either two or three A-levels or equivalent.

“There is no legal minimum age requirement or upper age limit for entry onto pre-registration midwifery programmes.”

You can find out more about the midwifery degree and what it involves here.

Of course, this is not the first time that Willis has expressed an interest in working within the NHS.

During her interview with Stylist last year, she said that she had always “thought I would work in a hospital”.

“I thought I would work in a hospital,” she admitted. 

“I never tried to plan anything in my career because I didn’t want to be let down. I thought, ‘I’ll enjoy it while I can and at some point it will end and I’m ready for that when it happens.’ I’m a glass half empty person. I don’t expect too much from myself then I won’t be disappointed. 

Willis added: “Sometimes I’ll think I’ve worked really hard, but when I think of hard work I think of people grafting every single day, that’s not what I do. I’m not working in the NHS doing shifts for 14 hours a day: that’s hard work. But I’ve stuck it out for a long time when I could have jacked it in because nothing was happening, and nothing was happening for quite a while.

“I’ve tried not to kiss ass for a job or go to the right parties for a job. If people like what I do, then at some point they’ll ask me to do it, and if they don’t continuously for 10 years, then I know I’ve got to get out.”

In another interview, Willis – who has been married to Busted’s Matt for almost a decade, now – opened up about being the primary breadwinner in her household.

“Matt and I have always had phases where we support each other,” she said at the time.

“At the moment Busted are taking a break and he’s focusing on doing acting classes, so he’s not earning.

“We have savings and I’m working, so it works. I say, ‘Go to your acting class and get really f**king good, because one day I won’t have a job and you’re going to have to support me!’”

Emma went on to explain that she considers this repayment for the time Matt supported her through a period of unemployment, saying: “In 2005, not long after I met Matt, MTV decided not to renew my contract.

“It meant that I didn’t have a job or any money. We lived together (in London) and he supported me because I had nothing. At one point I thought I was going to have to move home to Birmingham.”

She added: “That’s marriage and a relationship. I want him to do what makes him happy, and if that means studying for a little while, then great.”

Emma Willis: Delivering Babies will air on the W channel later this year.

Image: Getty