After going through hell in the past 18 months, Holly Willoughby was forced to relive her nightmare last week, following a documentary about Gavin Plumb and his kidnap and murder plot.
And while she’s been laying low in the aftermath of the Channel 5 programme, titled The Plot To Kill Holly Willoughby, those close to her have been rallying around to keep her distracted from the fresh trauma.
A source tells heat, ‘This has been a tough time for Holly. The idea of everyone talking about all this again has just made her want to go into hiding. But her pals have sprung into action in a bid to keep her mind from wandering back to those terrible events.’
Members of Holly’s celebrity girl gang include All Saints singer Nicole Appleton, Spice Girl Emma Bunton, actress Tamzin Outhwaite, and fellow presenters Christine Lampard and Kate Thornton. Talent manager Shiarra Bell is also in her close circle, while Holly, 44, has rekindled her close friendship with Fearne Cotton in recent years. Our insider says, ‘Fearne has been giving her amazing self-help tips and books on how to stay calm in a crisis and block out negative thoughts, which Holly has been really appreciative of. Meanwhile, Nicole has been organising a girls’ night out for her, so they can all show her how much they care – but it’ll be somewhere she won’t be photographed. It’s not that Holly is afraid of being seen living it up with her friends. She just doesn’t want to add to any publicity about this documentary or the conversations people are having after watching it.’
While Channel 5 have said that ‘the production company were in touch with Holly via her agent to let her know about the film’, it’s still no doubt been difficult for her. Holly’s world was rocked in October 2023, when Plumb was arrested after nearly a decade spent fixating on the presenter. Last July, the security guard, 37, was convicted of soliciting Holly’s kidnap, rape and murder, and sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 16 years. Holly was informed by police of his vile plan – which involved subduing her husband of 17 years, Dan Baldwin, with chloroform, and using the couple’s children, Harry, 15, Belle, 24, and 10-year-old Chester, as leverage – just hours before she was due to present that day’s episode of This Morning. The star immediately left her 14-year role on the ITV daytime flagship show and wasn’t seen in public for two months.
Following the trial, Holly thanked the police, saying, ‘As women, we should not be made to feel unsafe going about our daily lives and in our own homes. I would also like to commend the bravery of his previous victims for speaking up at the time. Without their bravery, this conviction may not have been possible.’ And in January, she admitted she still found the ordeal ‘really so hard’ to talk about, saying, ‘It’s been a tough one. There’s no way of sugar-coating it.’
Holly has since returned back to our TVs, hosting You Bet! and Dancing On Ice, as well as teaming up with pal Bear Grylls to present the Netflix reality competition Celebrity Bear Hunt. Her return to the spotlight has also seen her move house as she attempts to start a new chapter. And it’s not just her friends who have been a huge source of comfort, as her TV producer husband, 50, has also been by her side every step of the way.
‘Dan has been as supportive as ever, and he’s thrilled about Holly having some time with her girlfriends,’ our source says.
‘He has also been suggesting that they go away somewhere to get away from it, with trips to Soho Farmhouse and a family getaway to their beloved Portugal on the horizon. Holly is just being surrounded by so much love at the moment, and it’s made her feel really grateful.
‘It doesn’t make what she’s been through any easier, but knowing she has this loyal support makes her realise she can make it through anything.’