Inside Holly Willoughby's family life after kidnap plot horror

Metro

01-05-2025

Holly Willoughby has returned to screens in recent months on Netflix series Celebrity Bear Hunt and Dancing On Ice after a difficult year.
In 2023, Holly quit This Morning after 14 years of hosting – just months after a very public parting of the ways with former This Morning co-host Phillip Schofield.
The ITV presenter, 44, then remained out of the spotlight for months after a plot to kidnap and murder her.
Security guard Gavin Plumb was sentenced to life in prison in July 2024 after his plot to kidnap, rape and murder the presenter which left her with a 'life changing' impact.
In a statement shared after the verdict, Holly said: 'As women we should not be made to feel unsafe going about our daily lives and in our own homes.
'I will forever be grateful to the undercover police officer who understood the imminent threat, and to the Metropolitan and Essex police forces for their swift response. Thank you to the Crown Prosecution Service, the Rt Hon Mr Justice Murray, Alison Morgan KC, the members of the jury and all involved in this case for ensuring that justice was done and that the defendant will not be able to harm any more women.
'I would also like to commend the bravery of his previous victims for speaking up at the time. Without their bravery this conviction may not have been possible.'
While her onscreen life has been very much in the public eye, Holly's also spoken many times about her life offscreen and about how she fell in love with her husband.
Who is she married to and how old are their children?
Holly has been married to TV producer Dan Baldwin since 2007.
Dan, 49, has worked on such shows as Celebrity Juice and the Channel 4 game show Virtually Famous, and in 2014 also co-founded his own independent media company, Hungry Bear, together with Juliet Denison and Peter Jones CBE.
In their website bio he writes that his career started at the BBC as a researcher on Live & Kicking.
Holly and Dan met on the kids' TV show Ministry Of Mayhem in 2004, which Holly co-hosted with Stephen Mulhern, and were together for three years before they tied the knot.
However they were close friends for six months before they began dating, keeping their romance a secret for eight months.
Previously speaking on her Wylde Moon Instagram page, Holly explained: 'He came in as our new producer and we started this real intense friendship – it was mad actually. There was sort of two other guys that started at the same time, and we just became inseparable.
'We'd rehearse, and then we'd go out afterwards, and then we'd end up … We were filming down in Maidstone Studios and we used to stay in a hotel there.
'And you know everybody would go to the bar and then everybody would come back into either my room or their room and we'd all sit round just talking and laughing, and I just remember it just being such a fun time. I always describe that time as sort of my university years, really.'
'And this must have been six months of real intense friendship and I remember this one night we were in the bar,' she added.
'I cheersed Dan, and I remember my eye just caught him for a little bit longer than it should have done, and I looked at him, and thought, 'Oh my god, I fancy Dan Baldwin'.
'And it took me by complete surprise, and then the rest is history.'
The pair's wedding was on August 4 2007 near Holly's childhood home in Sussex, with the ceremony attended by guests including Dermot O'Leary and Fearne Cotton.
Holly and Dan are parents to son Harry, 15, daughter Belle, 12, and nine-year-old son Chester.
The couple keep their children largely out of the public eye, with Holly explaining on This Morning in 2021: 'I choose not to put my children's faces on Instagram because I know once they're out there, they're for public consumption.' https://www.instagram.com/p/COautAuBwjG/
However she does sometimes discuss her family, such as when she addressed the 'new challenges' of her children being older.
Speaking on This Morning just before Christmas in 2022, she explained: 'Looking ahead to next year, as I'm sure any parent would say that with every year brings new challenges, but the flip side of that is that you're watching these little humans grow and develop and become fully formed people. More Trending
'I think I'm just looking forward to what's next to come with them and seeing who they are turning out to be.
She continued: 'My oldest is 13 now and the relationship changes hugely. You know, they sit at the table with you and you are talking about things that aren't just about what they got up to at school that day, it's about how they view and see the world and I'm really enjoying it.
'I'm enjoying this phase and seeing all those things that you put in place throughout their early childhood years, suddenly blooming and I can't wait for more of that and just being a bit of a spectator with a helping hand.'
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A version of this article was originally published on October 11, 2023.
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