Emma worries that I'll relapse again on tour..but she knows how hard I work to keep sober

STEPPING on stage in Newcastle last night as part of Busted’s 20th anniversary tour, Matt Willis’ thoughts were laser-focused on delivering another electric show

- TOM BRYANT

Five years sober – and with the clarity that brings – he is enjoying being back in the limelight with childhood friends James Bourne and Charlie Simpson, performing hits like You Said No and Crashed The Wedding.

But he would be forgiven if his thoughts lay elsewhere.

When he was last on tour with the band in 2016, an offer of a solitary line of cocaine sparked a fresh descent into addiction after eight years sober.

It was a chilling reminder how precarious life as a recovering addict can be.

And with TV presenter wife Emma and their three children at home hundreds of miles away, on the outskirts of London, Matt knows what is at stake.

“Being on tour has been a moment of relapse for me again and again and again,” Matt, 40, explains. “Our life is really great… and a lot of people say to me, ‘Matt, why do you put yourself in a dangerous situation?’ It’s because I love it, I feel passionate about it and I’m capable of doing that clean and sober.

“Emma understandably worries about that but I think she can see the work that I put in. She can see where I am, and see how open I am about everything.”

Matt is certainly unflinchingly honest, – and the perfect guest for the second episode of the Mirror’s campaigning podcast Men in Mind.

The series, in association with the UK-based charity Mind, has a simple premise: to encourage more men to open up.

Mind’s research suggests that, rather than reach out for support, men are twice as likely as women to use recreational drugs and a third more likely to increase how much they drink to cope with their mental health.