It’s been a year of cancelled celebrations and postponed plans – but hope is well and truly on the horizon come 21 June. And it’s safe to say that the planned date for the easing of all lockdown restrictions can’t come soon enough for Holly Willoughby.
The This Morning presenter hit the big 4-0 in February, and while she had a fabulous day on set thanks to co-host Phillip Schofield and the ITV crew, she wasn’t able to do the milestone birthday proper justice. So, quite rightly, she’s planning to make up for lost time with loved ones at a massive belated shindig involving live music, a swanky A-list venue and enough showbiz names to fill a red carpet.
“Although she was disappointed about cancelling her plans, Holly has now been getting really excited about celebrating her 40th birthday in raucous style with her famous girl squad by her side,” says an insider close to the ITV star, who counts Emma Bunton, Nicole Appleton and Tamzin Outhwaite among her besties.
“She wants to do a big festival-style garden party this summer once restrictions are lifted, and the whole event will have a Glastonbury theme to it with live music. Emma, Nicole and Tamzin are helping out with ideas on the venue, which would ideally be somewhere VIP like Soho Farmhouse, and the guest list will be a who’s who of British TV, with the likes of Ant and Dec, Rochelle and Marvin Humes, Frank and Christine Lampard and, of course, Phil all getting an invite.”
CHECK OUT Holly Willoughby's career timeline
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Swipe through to see Holly Willoughby's career highlights...
2000: S Club TV
Back when Tina was doing her dance, and Jon was looking for romance, Holly was doing a pretty impressive job as a stand in member of S Club 7 for their TV movie S Club 7: Artistic Differences. In the children's comedy, the band split when artistic differences tore them apart (Paul heading off to start a rival band, Rachel leaving to get married) – but Holly helped keep the peace as a character named Zoe.
2004: Holly & Stephen’s Saturday Showdown AKA Ministry of Mayhem
Originally called Ministry of Mayhem, Holly and Stephen's Saturday Showdown was a mad cap CiTV game show that saw the show hosts camp it up as housemates that welcomed boys and girls teams in to their living room for an assortment of competitions.It is also the setting where Holly met her future husband, Dan Baldwin (they tied the knot in 2007 and have three children), and gave co-host Stephen Mulhern a platform to show off his magic skills. Fancy!
2005: CD:UK
Now we're not saying Cat Deeley can be replaced... but Holly was a pretty great successor to the fellow 40-year-old TV host. Holly helped many a hungover adult get through Saturday morning's by presenting the children's music chart show.
2006: Dancing on Ice
A glimpse of what was to come – Holly was paired with hosting icon Philip Schofield on the ice skating dance show that saw celebrities compete on skates under the tutelage of Olympic legends Torvill and Dean. Holly and Phil's warm chemistry was a hit with fan – pulling in over 12 million viewers at the show's peak.
2008: Xtra Factor
After Fearne Cotton but before Konnie Huq, Holly hosted The X Factor spin off show the year that music fans were thrilled by the likes of Alexandra Burke, JLS and Diana Vickers. The star arguably co-hosted with her first son, Harry, as she was pregnant with him while the show aired in 2008 – with her first baby arriving in May the following year. She returned to host again for series six – which was when Joe McElderry won.
2009: Celebrity Juice
The mad cap mayhem of presenting children's television shows was probably a good training ground for Holly to deal with the juvenile antics of Keith Lemon (aka Avid Merrion). Holly serves as a team captain on the bonkers late night game show with best friend Fearne Cotton championing her opposing team. The trio were a hit with viewers, until Fearne announced her departure from the show in December 2018."I'm going to miss you being on the other side of my banana... thank you for 10 years of laughter... love you @fearnecotton ... we are going to MISS you on @celebjuiceofficial SOOO much ud83dude25 xxxx," said Holly.
2009: This Morning
As well as delighting late night viewers, 2009 saw Holly enter the weekday TV format as she started hosting This Morning with Philip Schofield after the departure of Fern Britton. Fans of the pair have seen their friendship blossom on-screen as they still present together to this day – and have helped the magazine entertainment show scoop NTA, TRIC, TV Choice, and Freesat Awards along the way.And who could forget thatboozy TV appearance the morning after the night before, when Phil and Holly won the National Television Award for best day time TV? HILAIR.
2012: The Voice UK
Holly and Reggie Yates were the face of The Voice when it first launched in the UK on the BBC back in 2012. The duo held the show together for the first two years and worked alongside show coaches Sir Tom Jones, will.i.am, Jessie J and Danny O'Donoghue as they found champions Leanne Mitchell in 2012 and Andrea Begley in 2013.
2012: Surprise Surprise
When the long-running show was resurrected in 2012, Holly seemed like the natural choice to fill the shoes of Cilla Black. With her approachable demeanour and warm personality, Holly shone as she fronts the light entertainment show as members of the public have dreams made true.
2016: Meet the Parents
Proving herself as one of the hardest working women in showbiz, Holly doesn't slow down when the weekend arrives despite hosting This Morning four days per week. The hostess has most recently been helping singletons find love on the ITV dating show that sees parents vet prospective dates for their children.
2018: Coronation Street
In 2018, Holly had a cameo in beloved ITV soap Coronation Street, along with her co-host Phillip Schofield. The pair interviewed the characters of Rosie Webster, Craig Tinker and Gemma Winter as part of Rosie's exit storyline.
2018: Dancing on Ice (returns)
Back by popular demand, Phil and Holly were back in their gladrags to host the new series of Dancing on Ice in 2018, after the show's four year hiatus from our screens (Holly left in 2011, and was replaced by her friend Christine Bleakely)."What is really nice is I have found a new appreciation for this kind of show (which I love) since having the kids. It is exactly the type of show we sit and watch as a family," said Holly after announcing her return."We love Strictly, The X Factor and we love sitting there watching those big family event TV moments. It is nice my children are now old enough to come and watch and enjoy DOI!"
2018: I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!
In arguably her most prestigious gig to date after This Morning, Holly was invited to stand in for Ant McPartlin presenting I'm a Celeb while he recovered from an illness.Rumours were swirling for a while about who would replace Ant, but when push came to shove, Holly was the only person Dec (Donnelly) wanted by his side during his co-host's hiatus. Initial reactions to Holly were mixed, but by the time Harry Redknapp was crowned King of the Jungle, the nation was in agreement that Holly – as usual – had smashed it.
For someone whose job it is to look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on TV every morning, Holly has proved in the past that she can party hard. And, like the rest of us, she’s got a lot of partying to make up for. Last week, she enjoyed a boozy lunch with presenter pals Phillip, Rochelle and Christine (plus hubby Frank) and her own husband Dan Baldwin. And we’re told that she’s determined to make her belated festivities as fun and frivolous as possible – and she’s not just stopping at one do.
In addition to her festival-themed shindig, she’s also planning a girls’ holiday and a swanky date night with Dan. Because who said your birthday comes but once a year?
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“Holly’s desperate to let loose and let her hair down,” says our source. “She wants to celebrate somewhere private to make sure that she and her guests can get up to some mischief without being pictured. Obviously, it all depends on restrictions because she’ll be playing by the rules, but she’s thrilled about the idea of being together with all her friends and family. One thing is for sure, she doesn’t want to wait another year to celebrate.”
This Morning viewers will remember that, despite turning 40 in lockdown, Holly had a pretty special day on set back in February, as she arrived to a fanfare of balloons, drank Champagne at 10am, and was treated to three birthday cakes – including a recreation of the chocolate house cake she had on her second birthday. The presenter marked the occasion by paying tribute to her mum Linda, wearing the very same dress that Linda had worn on her 40th birthday. But the icing on the cake had to be the personalised message she received from her teenage crush Paul Young, who wished her a happy birthday in a video message. The big question is, will Paul really make her 40th one to remember and rock up to Holly’s long-awaited party? Here’s hoping.
Read more in the latest issue of heat magazine – OUT NOW.