Gavin Plumb, 36, was arrested on October 4, 2023 and charged with soliciting to commit murder and incitement to commit kidnap of Holly Willoughby, a host on the ITV show The Morning. He was allegedly assembling “a kidnap and restraint kit” and had encouraged a third party to travel to the UK from the United States to carry out the plan, according to the BBC. Plumb appeared in court on Friday and remains in custody.
Willoughby did not appear on The Morning on Thursday, after bosses at the ITV show were alerted to the threat just before the show began. ITV provided round-the-clock security for Willoughby as she took some time to stay out of the public eye.
On Friday, The Morning co-host Dermot O’Leary addressed the situation during the show, saying, “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.”
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.”
Jill Dando was fatally shot just as she arrived at her London home on April 6, 1999 in broad daylight. She’d received a menacing letter containing a threat just weeks before her murder, according to her agent at the time.
Willoughby announced yesterday (Tuesday, October 10, 2023) that she’s leaving the show. She wrote on Instagram: “I’ve let ITV know today that after 14 years, I will not be returning to This Morning. To everyone who has ever worked on the show over the years, thank you so so much. This is such a difficult goodbye, you are incredible and I forever will be proud of what we’ve done together.” ~Alexandra Heilbron