There was a time when you couldn’t switch on your telly without Holly Willoughby being on it. But after a difficult time off camera, TV’s golden girl made the decision to take a step away from the spotlight.
However, it appears Holly, 44, is now very much back in the game, as she’s tipped to host a reboot of classic Saturday night show Blind Date, after her husband, TV producer Dan Baldwin, 49, teased that his company Hungry Bear – which has had huge success with the revival of Gladiators on BBC1 – would be remaking it.
But while Holly’s name has been widely attached to the new version of the dating show – which was first presented by Cilla Black, and later Paul O’Grady – sources tell heat that mixing business and pleasure has been causing tension between the couple.
‘Holly and Dan have had ups and downs when they’ve collaborated on projects in the past, and they’re unsure about whether she should front Blind Date,’ an insider tells heat. ‘It’s a big gamble for them and it’s definitely caused some friction, which has made them question whether working together is the best idea.’
The source continues, ‘It’s a lot of extra pressure for Dan, as he would feel awful if the show flopped and Holly was the face of it. Similarly, Holly knows she would feel responsible if the s how flopped, which would make them both quite miserable.’
Holly and Dan met on kids’ show Ministry Of Mayhem – which she co-presented with Stephen Mulhern – in 2004, and married three years later. Since then, the pair – who are parents to Harry, 16, Belle, 14 and 10-year-old Chester – have worked together on a variety of projects, though most of them have been short-lived.
Sports comedy panel show Play To The Whistle ran for three series from 2015, and Take Off With Brad And Holly started as a Christmas special in 2019, with a four-episode season two years later. Most recently, Holly presented Freeze The Fear With Wim Hof, which ended after just one series in 2022. However, Dan’s company is also behind the extremely successful Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, and the comedian’s game show The Wheel – both of which Holly has appeared on. Speaking about working with Dan in 2017, Holly said, ‘I’m sure there are moments he says things to me that he wouldn’t be able to get away with had it been anybody else.’
Outside of work, Dan has been a huge support to Holly during a difficult couple of years. In 2023, she was the target of a horrific kidnap and murder plot by security guard Gavin Plumb. The terrifying incident caused her to step down from presenting This Morning and, earlier this year, her almost two-decade stint as co-presenter of Dancing On Ice came to an end after the show was axed.
And the source says Holly has told friends that she and Dan are treading carefully when it comes to joint projects, for the sake of their marriage. ‘It’s both a blessing and a curse that they work in the same industry,’ we’re told.
‘Holly knows Dan completely understands all of her career hardships, but they’ve both admitted that they can get sick of only talking about work. It can be hard for them to switch off sometimes. There have been tense discussions where Holly has suggested it might be better if Dan did his own thing. But there are other times when it’s been really fun and inspiring to work together.’
The source adds, ‘It’s hard, as there is so much at stake and they don’t want to risk ruining things between them. They’re trying their best to trust their instincts, but equally, they don’t want to be responsible for a huge failure.’
