TV presenter Holly Willoughby quickly became a much-loved figure on British television since she first started appearing on our screens. But since co-presenter Phillip Schofield’s affair scandal and the man behind her terrifying kidnap plot was sent to prison for life, things have looked very different for the 43-year-old.
In October 2023, after almost 15 years on This Morning, Willoughby left the show – four months after Schofield’s departure. She is currently presenting Netflix’s reality competition series ‘Celebrity Bear Hunt’ with Bear Grylls and ITV’s Dancing on Ice.
She began her career in children’s television, initially winning an audition for a show on CITV featuring S Club 7 called ‘S Club TV’. In 2004 she went on to co-present the entertainment show ‘Ministry of Mayhem’ and two years later, Willoughby went on to win a BAFTA Children’s Award.
In the same year, she was selected to co-present Dancing on Ice with Schofield, and just three years later she joined This Morning alongside Schofield, replacing Fern Britton, becoming a staple on British television ever since.
But Willoughby’s life was altered forever after it emerged a security guard named Gavin Plumb was planning to to abduct, rape and kill her.
In July 2024, Plumb was jailed for life after an eight-day trial, and Willoughby waived her right to anonymity, allowing the full, horrific details of his plan to be published.
Ever since finding out about Plumb’s plot, Willoughby says the aftermath has been “tough”.
Speaking to The Sunday Times she said: “It’s been a tough one. There’s no way of sugar coating it. Nothing can prepare you for something like that,” she added. “When something like that happens, you have a decision to make.”
She went on to explain that she had to decide whether to let it “absolutely affect all aspects of my life” or “focus on everything that’s positive and good”.
Willoughby added that letting it prevent her from living her life was “not an option”, adding that “so many people go through tough things, they just do”.
She noted how “every single person I speak to, and it seems more and more currently, are going through something.
“I think that, although I wouldn’t wish what happened to me on anybody at all, sometimes things go wrong, but you have to keep going for it because that’s all you can do,” she added.
Speaking about her family, she said she’s grateful for her husband, children, and friends: “You have to hold on to, ultimately, [how] all this serves its purpose. A lot of the change has been really good, you know? I’ve spent a long time not being able to take my kids to school and — I know, the school run, every [other] parent, they’d be like, ‘Christ, you absolutely dodged a bullet there.’ But there have been so many assemblies I haven’t been able to go to, so many things I’ve missed.
“Harry [Willoughby’s eldest child] is doing his GCSEs at the moment, this is his last year of school before he goes off to college and A-levels and stuff. And actually I’m grateful for having this time. Without even realising it, I think I’ve missed that. It’s really lovely to get some of that back.
“I’m healthy and I’m happy. I’ve got a wonderful husband and children and family, I’ve got great friends. You have to go: I choose to positively move forward and rely on all those people – the police, the court, the judge, the jury – all those people to do their role. And that’s what I had to do.”