Holly Willoughby, who was a presenter for the British daytime magazine programme ‘This Morning’, announced on 10 October that after 14 years of working on the show, she will no longer be returning to it.
This sudden decision was taken by Willoughby after a 36-year-old man named Gavin Plumb was arrested for allegedly attempting to kidnap and murder her. She took to her public Instagram page to officially announce her decision for leaving, which became her last post before going silent on social media.
Her public statement said: “I have let ITV know today that after 14 years, I will not be returning to This Morning.” She then went on to thank everyone who worked for the show, and added how “This is such a difficult goodbye… however, I now feel I have to make this decision for me and my family.”
Dr. Ranj Singh, a British doctor who had also worked for ‘This Morning’ till 2021, told the Closer magazine that he reached out to his former colleague: “I messaged Holly just to check she was OK. Everything that’s happened with her has been really tough. We all reached out and just want to make sure she’s all right. She replied and she’s good.”
Due to Holly’s complete silence on social media for over a month, Dr. Ranj was asked if she would make a return to television. He replied “Of course, she will come back to TV, she’s too good not to. I don’t know where or what show, but she’s so good at it, it would be a shame for her to back away completely.”
Holly’s decision came after a difficult year, as her former co-host and friend Phillip Schofield also left the show in May 2023 following revelations over his secret affair with a younger male colleague.
The Kidnap and Murder Allegations
According to several sources presented by Sky News and BBC, Gavin Plumb, a 36-year-old man from Essex, was arrested on 4 October for allegedly planning to kidnap and murder Holly.
At a hearing at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on 6 October 2023, Plumb was accused of “soliciting, encouraging, persuading, endeavoring to persuade or proposing to a third party” to murder Holly sometime between 3 and 4 October.
The suspect was allegedly “assembling a kidnap and restraint kit, capable of encouraging or assisting the commission of the kidnap” of Holly Willoughby so that he could hold her captive till a third party arrived in the UK from America.
Holly’s co-host Dermot O’Leary addressed the charges on 6 October’s ‘This Morning’ episode: “We are not going to talk too much about it, but Holly is on the front pages after police arrested a 36-year-old man over an alleged kidnap plot.”
O’Leary expressed love and support for their former colleague as co-host Alison Hammond added: “We are obviously all shocked to hear the news and we want to send our love and biggest hugs to Holly and her family.”
What is ‘This Morning’?
‘This Morning’ is a British daytime magazine programme that is broadcast on ITV across the United Kingdom and Ireland ever since its debut over 35 years ago on 3 October 1988.
The programme features a variety of news, mixed with celebrity interviews, entertainment news, current affairs discussions, a look at sports competitions, health columns, cooking tips, fashion, beauty, lifestyle and pop culture.
The show was originally presented by husband-and-wife Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, but now has grown into various co-presenters like Alison Hammond, Dermot O’Leary, Ben Shephard, Josie Gibson, Rochelle Humes, Craig Doyle, Rylan Clark and Cat Deeley.
The show saw the departures of two of their biggest presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby during 2023. ‘This Morning’ is one of the longest-running daytime programmes on British television, and it has won the National Television Award for Best Daytime/Live Magazine Show for 18 years (1998 to 2022).
