By Sinead Dalton

Copyright evoke

Believe it or not, the days before the internet and when you had thousands of channels at your fingertips, kids and teenagers lived for shows such as The Den, Live & Kicking and Top of the Pops.

For Emma Ledden, the media had always been a passion she wanted to pursue, and over the years, she climbed to great heights, experiencing the highs and lows of fame.

However, after over ten years in the business, she took a step back, and the girl we used to tune into on a Wednesday on the Den for Pop Gossip had changed her life completely.

After being signed up by Assets modelling agency in Dublin, Emma, at the age of 18, was given the chance to audition for a role as a pop gossip reporter, delivering all the latest from the entertainment world each week- yes, folks, before you were able to scroll, click or shout to Alexa for the latest news.

Sitting down with EVOKE, she said, ‘Yvonne Connolly, Amanda Byrom, I and Pamela Flood went along to audition,’ believing that there was no way she would outshine some of the top models in the country.

‘I remember going for the audition and there was Ray Darcy, Dustin and Socky, and I prepared some hot gossip…it didn’t feel like TV, it was just pure fun, and then I got the call to say I got the gig! I couldn’t believe it.’

After two years, she made her way to MTV, followed by Live & Kicking and along the way, interviewed some of the most famous people in the music and movie business that still sticks with her today.

‘I interviewed Beyonce, and what really struck me was that she was beautiful and smaller than I thought, but she was really quiet, and I found this with a couple of celebs, such as Mel C from the Spice Girls; they are completely different from their personas on stage. She was almost timid,’ she said.

Interviewing Victoria Beckham during her solo career, Emma spoke of how David also attended and, with her jaw on the floor, told us that he is, in person, ‘the sexiest man I have ever seen in my life.’

However, there was one pop star who took a shine to the Dublin girl.

During his heyday, Emma told us how ‘Robbie Williams asked me out on a date!’

‘I was doing Top of the Pops, and I interviewed him and he got my phone number and he rang my house and he left a voice message on our answering machine. Me and my mam listened to it about ten times, but I had to say no because I had a boyfriend,’ she told us.

While fame was fun, exciting, and almost exhilirating at times for the Dublin girl, it began to take its toll. ‘Although things had worked very well for me. TV and media are very up and down. I had periods I was out of work, periods when you are the flavour of the month.’

Looking back, she said ‘TV is about ratings, and you are only as good as the people watching the show, and as good as the bosses who want to hire you…There is a huge pressure on the person performing…and at 21, that is a lot.’

To every side, there is good and bad, and regarding fame, she will often get a flashback. ‘I would be walking around Tesco and then suddenly I remember I went to the BAFTAs,’ an event that only some people could dream of.’

Using her talents from the media industry, the star began working with women returning to work, confidence building and motivational speaking and taking this a step further, joined LinkedIn, helping those find the strength to speak in public.

Building a life for herself over the years, raising a family and finding out who she is, Emma hasn’t completely turned her back on her first love.

Dipping her toe into one of today’s most popular platforms, the mum of two began her own podcast called ‘Finding your Pink.’ A chance for those to find out who they are, reinvention and rediscovery.

Interviewing some extraordinary women who have been through some of life’s biggest demands, from loss, motherhood and burnout and how they have pulled themselves back to life and recognise who they are as individuals, rather than a title of mum or wife or sister.

With a podcast under her belt we may just see her back on our screens in the near future – just keep an eye out.