Social media has been abuzz with news of Holly Willoughby’s recent travails. But Willoughby is in the news right now through no fault of her own. The 42-year-old British TV presenter’s profile has just skyrocketed not because of a TV appearance, but due to a shocking arrest. Here’s what we know.
A mainstay of British mainstream TV
Born in 1981, Willoughby began her career as a model, appearing in magazines for girls in the 1990s. by the early 2000s, she had segued into television, and presented various children’s fact-based and talent shows for the BBC and ITV. Willoughby became a mainstay of children’s television, winning a Children’s BAFTA – the version of the prestigious award reserved for youth programming – in 2006.
Late that year, Willoughby began working on family shows, presenting Dancing On Ice, and The Xtra Factor – a spinoff show that was a part of Simon Cowell’s X Factor stable. In 2009, she was tapped as co-presenter of ITV’s long-running daytime TV show This Morning, a position in which she still works. In 2021 she guested in an episode of Ted Lasso.
A murder plot?
Earlier this week, however, the British public was stunned when the news broke that a man had been arrested and charged with soliciting another to commit murder. As per The Guardian, a 36-year-old Essex man, Gavin Plumb, is suspected of having incited another to travel from the United States to the United Kingdom with the intent of kidnapping Willoughby.
At the time of writing, Plumb has been detained and formally charged, while the star’s residence is under police guard. The charges relate to conspiring with a man named David Nelson to “commit murder, and incitement to commit kidnap between 2 October and 5 October.”
Plumb, who only spoke in court to confirm his name, date of birth, address, and place of work, has been accused of assembling a “kidnap and restraint kit” as well as encouraging a would-be associate to travel to the United Kingdom in order to perpetuate the crime as part of what was deemed a “detailed plan.”
Currently remanded in custody, a plea hearing has been set for Nov. 3.