For a direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DS-SS) system we pose and solve the problem of maximum-likelihood (ML) sequence estimation in the presence of narrowband interference, using the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. It is seen that the iterative EM algorithm obtains at each iteration an estimate of the interference which is then subtracted from the data before a new sequence estimate is produced. Both uncoded and trellis coded systems are studied, and the EM-based algorithm is seen to perform well, outperforming a receiver that uses an optimized notch filter to remove the intereference, especially for large interference levels.