Holly Willoughby reveals real reason behind This Morning exit after 'tough' year
Holly Willoughby has mostly been out of the public eye since October 2023 when police foiled a kidnap and murder plot against the popular presenter.
The incident led to the star resigning from This Morning, which she had presented for over 14 years. The star has since returned to screens with Dancing on Ice and her upcoming series, Celebrity Bear Hunt.
In her first comments on the kidnap plot since her victim impact statement, the presenter told the Sunday Times she had had a "tough" year. She explained: "It's been a tough one. There's no way of sugarcoating it."
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She then reflected that she could have let the case "affect all aspects of my life, or I can make a choice to go, let's focus on everything that's positive and good, all those important things".
Holly added that crumbling was "not an option" for her, she continued: "I think that, although I wouldn't wish what happened to me on anybody at all, sometimes things go wrong, but you have to keep going for it because that’s all you can do."
And when probed on her departure from This Morning, she described the decision as "really simple and easy". At the time of her departure, the presenter released a statement which read in part: "This is such a difficult goodbye, you are incredible and I forever will be proud of what we've done together."
The mum-of-three also praised her family for their support over the incident. "I've got a wonderful husband and children and family, I've got great friends," she shared.
"You have to go: I choose to positively move forward and rely on all those people – the police, the court, the judge, the jury – all those people to do their role. And that's what I had to do."
Gavin Plumb was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 16 years for the plot, following a trial, which was held in July 2024.
Speaking at the sentencing, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said: "My Lord knows of the extreme and gratuitous degradation of the victim that was planned by this defendant. Degradation that was so depraved and vile that they were, by agreement, not reported in detail by representatives of the media."
She also spoke about the impact that the case had on Holly, saying it had been "life-changing for the victim… both in private and personal terms and, indeed, professionally. The extent of the shock and fear of this offending has been impossible to convey… it's investable that [the trial] has exacerbated the trauma for this victim."
Justice Murray told the court that he had read Holly's impact statement, which remained private, confirming that the offending had "life-changing consequences" for her. He said: "I simply note that I am satisfied that these offences have had life-changing consequences for her both privately and professionally.
"We say more broadly that offending of this type, as Miss Willoughby said in her public statement has a broad impact on women. Women should not feel unsafe as they go about their daily lives."
