A 36-year-old man has been named and charged for attempting to kidnap and harm This Morning star Holly Willoughby.
Gavin Plumb, 36, is accused of incitement to commit rape, soliciting to commit murder and incitement to commit kidnap and will appear at Chelmsford Magistrates Court today.
Superintendent Tim Tubbs said: “This was an extremely fast paced investigation, with many of our officers and national partners working overnight to secure these charges. The safeguarding of any victim is paramount and we will continue to prioritise this as the investigation proceeds.”
The star’s £3 million home in south west London is currently under police guard and she has reported to have been left “shocked and distraught” after learning she was the subject of dark messages that threatened to kidnap the mother-of-three.
This Morning bosses were alerted to the alleged plot on Thursday morning and the presenter decided to pull out shortly before she was due to go on air, the newspaper added.
What we know so far about Holly Willoughby’s alleged kidnapping
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What we know so far about Holly Willoughby’s alleged kidnapping
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Lorraine Kelly upset by the alleged incident
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A tumultuous few months for the ITV star
Man named and charged for attempting to cause harm and kidnap Holly Willoughby
10:17 , Lydia Patrick
A 36-year-old man has been named and charged for attempting to kidnap and harm This Morning star Holly Willoughby.
Gavin Plumb, 36, is accused of incitement to commit rape, soliciting to commit murder and incitement to commit kidnap and will appear at Chelmsford Magistrates Court today.
Superintendent Tim Tubbs said: “This was an extremely fast paced investigation, with many of our officers and national partners working overnight to secure these charges. The safeguarding of any victim is paramount and we will continue to prioritise this as the investigation proceeds.”
ICYMI – Alison Hammond, Dermot O’Leary and Lorraine send supportive messages
10:40 , Lydia Patrick
Holly Willoughby’s ITV co-stars sent messages of love and support to the This Morning presenter, after shocking news emerged of an alleged “kidnap plot” against her.
Gavin Plumb, 36, is accused of incitement to commit rape, soliciting to commit murder and incitement to commit kidnap. He is set to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates Court today after being arrested by officers on Wednesday 4 October.
Willoughby, 42, was left “shocked and distraught” after learning she was allegedly the subject of “sinister” messages threatening to kidnap and harm her.
She was absent from Thursday’s episode of This Morning after bosses were told of the alleged plot by police, with Alison Hammond stepping in as a replacement with co-host Josie Gibson.
Her £3m home in south-west London, where she lives with her TV producer husband Dan Baldwin and their three children, is said to have been placed under police guard while the alleged plot is investigated.
Read the full story by Roisin O’Connor here
Holly Willoughby’s co-stars speak out after shock ‘kidnap plot’ news
Rishi Sunak sends supportive message to Holly Willoughby
10:37 , Lydia Patrick
The British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is live on This Morning alongside Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond.
Before addressing the Tory conference and proposed policies, he sent a supportive message to the ITV star.
He said: “I’m so sorry to hear everything going on with Holly, I just want to send my best to her and her family.”
Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary address Holly Willoughby’s absence
10:08 , Lydia Patrick
Holly Willoughby’s co-star’s Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond addressed their co-star’s absence.
They said on This Morning: “We’re obviously all shocked to hear the news and want to send our love and biggest hugs to Holly.”
A tumultuous few months for the ITV star
09:49 , Lydia Patrick
Holly Willougby has faced a rocky few months after the revelation her co-host Phillip Schofield had an affair with a younger employee.
Schofield, 61, admitted to the BBC he had lied to colleagues and his agent about the relationship after he stepped down from his This Morning presenting role in May.
“The last time we had a conversation was when I texted Holly and said, ‘Don’t reply’ – this was after the statement last week – ‘Don’t reply, you’re probably not allowed to, but I am deeply deeply sorry that I lied to you,’” he said to the BBC.
He also told The Sun that the affair “was the one secret in our sanctuary that was never mentioned”, adding that he has “lost my best friend”.
Holly Willoughby faced a backlash from fans who accused her of knowing about the affair all along, leading her to make two public statements regarding the scandal.
On Saturday (28 May), one day after Schofield shared his statement, Willoughby wrote on Instagram that it had “taken time to process [the] news.”
“When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not. It’s been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie,” she said.
Willoughby later returned to This Morning where she issued a second statement to viewers about the controversy, before going on a scheduled holiday then returning again in September.
Lorraine Kelly upset by incident
09:39 , Lydia Patrick
Lorraine Kelly described the alleged incident as ‘very upsetting’ on her show this morning.
She said: “That’s a horrible thing for her to be going through and of course we send Holly and her family our best wishes.”
What we know so far
09:34 , Lydia Patrick
Holly Willoughby was absent from her usual This Morning presenting slot on Thursday (5 October) due to an alleged kidnapping plot that was foiled by police, according to reports.
The ITV presenter is said to have been left “shocked and distraught” after learning that she was the subject of “sinister” messages that threatened to kidnap and harm the mum of three.
A 36-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday evening while a police guard has since been placed outside Willoughby’s £3m home in south-west London, where she lives with her husband – TV producer Dan Baldwin – and their three children, as investigations continue, The Sun reports.
The Independent has contacted Willoughby’s representatives for comment.
An Essex Police spokesman told The Independent: “A 36-year-old man from Harlow has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to kidnap as part of an ongoing investigation.
Read the full story by Roisin O’Connor here
‘Distraught’ Holly Willoughby ‘under police guard’ after alleged kidnap plot
Hello and welcome
09:33 , Lydia Patrick
The Indpeendent are launching a live blog on the alleged Holly Willoughby kidnapping plot where we will be bringing live updates as events unfold.
The star will miss her slot on This Morning after Police arrested a 36-year-old man yesterday on suspicion of kidnapping the 42-year-old ITV presenter.
Stay tuned for updates.
