YouTube Presenter Emily Hartridge: I Never Set Out To Make Videos About Sex

The British presenter spoke to BuzzFeed News about the negative and "pervy" comments her videos receive, and why Zoella is such a good role model.

Emily Hartridge doesn't want to be known as "that girl on the internet talking about sex" any more.

Twitter: @emilyhartridge / Via emilyhartridge.co.uk

The British YouTube star has almost 200,000 subscribers to her channel and has found impressive success online through her 10 Reasons Why sketches, in which she discusses and acts out a new topic each week.

She told BuzzFeed News she never planned to make a name for herself by making videos about sex. Deliberate or not though, that's what happened.

This is her most popular video to date – "Boobs are AWESOME....10 Reasons Why".

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The clip is from December 2012 and has been watched over 11 million times.

Hartridge starts the video with: "Hello lesbians, perverts, anyone who appreciates the female upper body," adding: "I can only imagine the men watching this already have their flies down ready."

These are her top 20 most-watched videos. There is quite a clear theme.

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Despite receiving millions of views for videos such as "You should have sex with your ex", "Penises (willies, cocks) are awesome", and "Women Love Sex....10 Reasons Why", Hartridge no longer wants to be associated with online sketches about sex.

"I guess I didn’t want to be that girl on the internet talking about sex and it was getting a bit to that stage, so I started to do different topics," she said.

"I did do one on small boobs recently, so I do drop in the occasionally rude one. I don't want people to think that's where they come to... I don't know.

"It's not like I have a vested interested in boobs or those kind of topics, I just did them because I thought they would be fun and I guess some people don't take it that way, but you can't please everyone unfortunately."

Hartridge said it was hard at first to see some negative comments directed at her videos, but that you learn to grow a really thick skin.

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She added: "Most of my comments are more pervy.

"In a weird way, it's quite a compliment that it's pervy. I'd rather they were saying they would rather do stuff to me than the thought of that makes them sick."

The 30-year-old is keen to become a full-time presenter, and in 2012 found herself the subject of tabloid gossip after this chaotic interview with Russell Brand.

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Their meeting led to speculation the pair had been texting each other afterwards, something Hartridge categorically denied.

She told the Huffington Post: "He did ask for my number but I didn't give it to him. I just don't want to go out with Russell Brand. I don't fancy him so why would I give him my number?"

Hartridge has been making YouTube videos since 2011 and said she uploaded her first 10 Reasons Why clip at a time when she was suffering from depression.

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"I really wanted to be young again and just to not have any problems, basically, so then I wrote down 10 reasons I wished I was 12 years old again," she said.

"I don't know why I decided to film it, but for some reason I uploaded it to YouTube and a few of my friends in the industry said, 'That's a really nice idea, lists work really well online, you should keep doing them.'"

She said she will keep making the sketches for as long as she can, although conceded when she has a family, she may no longer have time.

For now, the "boobs are awesome" video continues to attract the most views to her channel.

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"In regards to money, that one keeps everything ticking over," the presenter revealed, but added she has no regrets about its success.

"I still to this day don't think talking about boobs is that rude, like, it's just boobs," Hartridge said. "I don't regret that video, I think it's quite cool it's got that many views and I do really like that video. I think that it's funny, I hope people know it's tongue-in-cheek and not serious."

She said her videos, which are uploaded every Monday, help pay the rent, but only take roughly six hours in total each to create.

Hartridge, who has previously worked for MSN and Yahoo, said YouTube had been a hugely positive experience for her, and she hopes it will distinguish her from other presenters when going for jobs.

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"It's nice for me to know I've done it, even if I never carried it on, that I built something up by myself – [it's] quite nice for me to do something different to other people," she said.

The presenter added she had no problems with other YouTube stars, such as Zoella, becoming role models to millions of young people.

"I don't see why Zoella wouldn’t be a good role model to lots of people, [it's] not like she goes out and gets smashed all the time and talks about drugs and booze – she's actually probably the perfect role model," Hartridge declared.

"But obviously, you have bad role models out there, like the people who got in trouble recently for the pranks and stuff. I'm sure they regret what they did, because that's just ridiculous, because they're in the public eye just as much as mainstream celebrities."

For now, Hartridge says she will continue to keep her subscribers amused with weekly sketches as she continues to seek that career-changing presenting gig.

Just don't expect to hear her talking about sex.