Matt Willis

Music career

McBusted

Willis' return to music saw him reunite with one of his ex-Busted bandmates (James Bourne) and with McFly to form the group, McBusted. After a successful tour, they released their debut album McBusted.^[6] On 10 November 2015, it was announced that Simpson had decided to rejoin Busted after 10 years away from the band, as a consequence Willis confirmed that McBusted had parted ways for the time being putting the band on hiatus.

Television

In 2006, Willis took part in the sixth series of Celebrity MasterChef. In December 2006 on ITV, Willis was crowned 'King of the Jungle' on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! despite going into the final day as the 8-1 underdog against Myleene Klass and Jason Donovan.^[7] Weighing 13 stone 2lb upon entering, he discovered that he had lost two stone after being weighed again in the jungle. In order to enter the jungle, Willis was required to sky dive from a plane. During his stay, in a compulsory bushtucker trial, Willis ate a kangaroo anus, crocodile penis, crocodile eye, witchetty grub, and some sweeties and mealworms to earn a cooked, luxury meal for himself and the other celebrities. In November 2007, Willis and his then-girlfriend Emma Griffiths went to Australia and presented I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW! on ITV2, after Willis had won the 2006 series. Following in 2008, the couple were asked back after winning a presenting award earlier that year. Each series lasted over six weeks in Australia during November and December. In early 2009, Willis and his wife did not renew their contract with ITV2 due to the birth of their first child in June 2009. In November 2011, Willis appeared on Big Brother's Bit on the Side with his wife.^{[citation needed]}

Since winning I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, Willis has also pursued various presenting projects. On 14 February 2007, Willis presented ITV2's coverage of the BRIT Awards with Lauren Laverne, Russell Howard and Alesha Dixon and returned to this role in 2008 alongside his wife, Emma, and Laverne. He interviewed Rihanna, Shayne Ward, Adele, Ozzy Osbourne, Kate Nash and many more including Perez Hilton who became very fond of Willis. Following his success in this, he hosted the MTV Hits night of MTV's Spanking New Music Tour 2007 with his wife Emma, live from the Anson Rooms in Bristol on 21 March 2007. In February 2008, Willis presented the Red Carpet coverage for the E! Entertainment network, at the 2008 BAFTA Awards, alongside his wife and Ryan Seacrest.^[8]

In January 2014, Willis played Garth Stubbs in the revival of Birds of a Feather on ITV, but did not return for the second series due to McBusted commitments and was replaced by Samuel James. In February 2014, Willis appeared in the short-term role of Luke Riley in EastEnders, the boyfriend of returning character Stacey Branning (Lacey Turner).^[9]

In 2022, announcements stated Willis would host a documentary concerning his experiences with addiction.^[10] The documentary, Matt Willis: Fighting Addiction, aired on 17 May 2023. Willis was praised for his honesty.^[11][12] To promote the film, Willis appeared on The One Show, where he opined: "There's some incredible science behind addiction but I learnt a lot through hearing other people's stories which resonated with me [...] I've always been quite open and honest with [my children] but [my daughter and I] watched it together and she had the most incredible questions. I was blown away by her reaction to it."^[13] Matt Willis: Fighting Addiction garnered two million viewers.^[14]

Theatre work

In 2010, Willis made his theatrical debut as Nick in Flashdance: The Musical, a West-End production. Later that year, Willis was offered the role of Chuck in an adaption of Footloose.^[15] Late 2011 also saw Willis take on the role of Fiyero in Wicked.^[16] He continued the role until 27 October 2012, when he was replaced by Ben Freeman. In August and September 2018, he starred as Orin Scrivello in Little Shop of Horrors in Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.^[17] In 2021, it was announced Willis would be joining the UK tour of Waitress playing Dr Pomatter.^[18] From January to May 2026, he has been playing the role of Emcee in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club.^[19]

Podcast

Willis is the co-host of comedy podcast When No One Is Watching alongside comedian Matt Richardson. A range of celebrity guests are featured on the podcast, during which they are asked to admit 'the darkest pleasures and weirdest confessions they would rather no one knew about'.^[20][21]

In 2023, Willis began his own podcast 'On The Mend' in which he interviews guests who 'have hit rock bottom and made it through to the other side'.^[22] Guests included Raphael Rowe, Dougie Poynter and Bryony Gordon.

Studio albums

Singles

Film/Television