‘emma’s a pillar of strength for holly’

Holly Willoughby and Emma Bunton have been close friends for years – standing by each other’s side through milestone moments in their lives.

And after a tough few months for Holly, she’s been leaning on her pal more than ever.

“Holly has a very small network of friends, but Emma is someone she can truly trust,” a source tells us. “Emma knows what it’s like with things playing out in the public eye, she went through it all when she was in the Spice Girls, so Emma has been a pillar of strength for Holly.”

Holly, 42, made her big TV comeback earlier this month as she returned to ITV to present Dancing On Icealongside Stephen Mulhern. It came after she stepped away from This Morning back in October after 14 years – a decision she made “for me and my family” – when an alleged kidnap plot came to light.

The court case against her alleged kidnapper Gavin Plumb, who is charged with soliciting murder and incitement to kidnap, is still ongoing. He was denied bail at a hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court in November ahead of his trial in June.

Like Holly, Emma knows all too well the struggles that can come with being famous. Speaking to Holly on her By The Light Of The Moon podcast, she previously said, “I’ve always kept myself as private as possible, but I suppose now with social media, it’s a bit harder. I’ll never forget the first time I saw a camera on a phone, and I was in a club dancing on a table and somebody took a picture of me. I thought, ‘That’s the end of privacy!’”

As well as both understanding what it’s like being in the glare of the spotlight, they also bond over having children of a similar age. Emma shares Beau, 16, and Tate, 12, with husband Jade Jones, 44, while Holly is mum to Harry, 14, Belle, 12, and Chester, eight, with husband Dan Baldwin, 49.

Holly has previously said that being a mum is more important than anything else. “It wasn’t like when I was at school. I thought, ‘Oh, I’m going to be this big career girl.’ Being a mummy is definitely my most favourite job of all,” she said. “If I’m going to get up and leave the kids in the morning then it has to be for something that I feel passionately about – and I’m lucky to be able to do that.”

Meanwhile, Emma has also said that her children are her “priority”. She added, “I a