TV presenter Holly Willoughby started her working life aged 15, her fresh-faced good looks winning her regular modelling work in teen magazines. By 19, she had graduated to lingerie modelling and won herself a high-profile contract with Pretty Polly. Her subsequent move into TV work paid off and she now presents Saturday morning show Ministry Of Mayhem.

Why did you turn your back on modelling?
After the Pretty Polly job, I was sent to a casting - you never know what it's for before you get there - which turned out to be for S Club TV [short-lived Sunday morning kids' show]. I got called back for a screen test and ended up getting the job, which is how I branched off into TV work.

You've said you weren't very good at it, so why did you pursue TV presenting?
Even though I knew I wasn't very good at it, I really enjoyed doing it. I knew if I got more practice and stuck with it, I'd get better at it. My background in modelling helped in dealing with the cameras.

You originally planned to become a psychotherapist - what happened?
When I was at college, I thought I would go to university and study psychology and use modelling as a way of paying for me to do my degree. Once I got a taste for presenting, I realised that was what I wanted to do and maybe a degree in psychology wouldn't help with that - or maybe it would considering some of the people I've had to interview. I've started an Open University degree in psychology and that's something that I absolutely will complete at some point.

Ministry Of Mayhem involves celebrity guests getting pies thrown in their faces. Has anyone ever refused?
Yes, but often it's because they have to go to another show afterwards or do something and don't have time to get changed and showered. You can understand that - if they've spent hours in the make-up department, they obviously don't want to get messed up.

Has anyone not understood the show at all?
We had a wrestler from Germany on once. Halfway through, he started saying he didn't get it. He had no idea why everyone was getting caked and why everyone was loving it. Apart from him - which I put down to the language barrier - most people know what the show is about.

Would you ever try to pull a celeb guest? Channel 4's Steve Jones hasn't done too badly at it.
His calibre of pulls has been unbelievable - Pamela Anderson, Halle Berry and everyone. Maybe if we had the likes of Brad Pitt coming on our show I'd give it my best shot. I tend to look pretty rank after the first 20mins, though. A few weeks ago, for example, we had a dog food fight. I would be astounded if anyone flirted with me when I've got dog food all over my face.

What do you think of presenters on other shows who make snide remarks about guests behind their backs?
That's how they like to present on Popworld and it works brilliantly for them. People tune in to watch Simon Amstell take the p*** out of McFly or whoever it is. It's funny to watch but personally I couldn't do that then know I'd have to look them in the face when they come on the show next time. It would just feel awful. We do make the odd tongue-in-cheek reference to certain people but it's all in fun.

Any favourite guests?
Yes, there are loads of them because it's a kids' show and people are up for having a laugh. Lee from Blue loves it. When Blue were doing promotions, he insisted on doing our show, you literally had to hold him away from the cakes. Once he took an egg in with him and cracked it over my head when I was doing a link.

You're presenting a new kids' TV show about phobias - didn't you have to put rats down your knickers?
It wasn't as bad as that but I did have to put a weird kind of dress thing on, get covered in food then have 65 rats dumped on me which wasn't the most pleasant of experiences. The show is about why people are scared of things and how to deal with things if you are afraid of them.

What was the worst one?
Everybody has their different thing that they're scared of. My particular thing was having to sleep in a forest overnight on my own. The forest was pitch black, I couldn't see a thing. I only had a torch, some tarpaulin and some twigs. It was really Blair Witch territory.

Where was the wood?
Guildford.

So you weren't going to be eaten by a bear, then?
No, but you don't know what's out there - that's the thing. You don't know what weirdos might be hanging around, what animals might bite you. If you've got any sort of imagination, a place like that plays havoc with you. There was probably a camera crew five minutes away having a right old laugh but if you can't control your imagination that's where your problems start.

You've said you'd make the perfect Stepford Wife. That's an odd comment for someone of your age to make.
I'm quite old-fashioned. I can't wait for the day I get married and start having children. I've always said one day I'll run away and spend my time making jam. I'm not planning on all that right now but it's something I'd want to do eventually.

You presented the ITV2 Celebrity Wrestling coverage. If the presenting work dried up would you take part in something like that yourself?
Celebrity Wrestling? No way. Everyone got hurt and they all had to wear quite a lot of Lycra so that doesn't appeal. I wouldn't do I'm A Celebrity... either, I'm not going to eat a witchetty grub for anyone. Celebrity Big Brother would drive me stir-crazy. As a presenter, you're not really a celebrity, as such. You're the viewer's first point of access to the celebrity so I'd be wondering what I was doing in there. I'd probably end up interviewing everybody.

There are rumours that Jack Osbourne's taken a shine to you. True?
Sadly, not. There was something in a magazine saying he'd been sending me flowers which is absolutely not true. Jack and I are good friends, we met presenting Celebrity Wrestling, but we're just friends and that's it.