Willoughby speaks of 'tough' year after kidnap plot

Holly Willoughby has spoken of her "tough" year after a man was jailed for plotting to kidnap her, saying: "Nothing can prepare you for something like that."

The former This Morning host left the show in October 2023, saying she wanted to spend more time with her family, after the plot emerged.

Willoughby, in her first interview for more than a year, admitted she found it "really so hard" to talk about what had happened.

But she said she had made a decision to "focus on everything that's positive and good" and is healthy and happy.

Gavin Plumb was last summer found guilty of soliciting murder and inciting rape and kidnap, following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court. He was jailed for life, with a minimum term of 16 years.

Willoughby, who waived her right to anonymity in connection with the case, told the Sunday Times' Style magazine: "It's been a tough one. There's no way of sugar-coating it."

The 43-year-old said: "When something like that happens, you have a decision to make.

"You can either decide, right, I can take this on board and it can absolutely 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."

She spoke of her "wonderful" husband, children, friends and family, adding: "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."

Willoughby said it was "not an option" for her to let the situation take over her life.

"So many people go through tough things - they just do," she told interviewer Polly Vernon.

She added: "Although I wouldn't wish what happened on me on anybody at all - sometimes things go wrong, but you have to keep going for it because that's all you can do."

Willoughby presented This Morning with Schofield, centre, for many years. Alison Hammond, right, is one of the show's other presenters

When she left This Morning, her co-host of more than a decade Philip Schofield had already stepped down earlier that year over an affair with a former colleague which he described as "unwise but not illegal".

Asked if it was terrifying to walk away from the programme, Willoughby said: "That question is wrapped up in so many things that were going on at that time.

"But no. That was the last thing on my mind. The choice was really simple and easy, actually."

A lot of the change has been "really good", Willoughby said, as she can do the school run and attend assemblies.

"Without even realising it, I think I've missed that. It's really lovely to get some of that back."

She did not discuss Schofield in the Sunday Times interview.

Having spent some time away from work, Willoughby has resumed hosting duties on shows like Dancing on Ice, with her next venture being Netflix's Celebrity Bear Hunt.

Despite describing herself as "a wimp" compared to co-host Bear Grylls, she admitted: "I'm made of quite tough stuff.

"I have that thing where I definitely would rather take the easy option, but I know, if I have to, there is something in there."