SHE was the perfect combination of glossy blonde ambition and golden girl next door – so viewers were stunned when, a year ago this week, Holly Willoughby suddenly left This Morning for good.
The star had been the mainstay of ITV’s flagship daytime show for 14 years, but away from the cameras she was struggling to cope with the ordeal of discovering that a man had been plotting to kidnap, rape and murder her.
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But now, following 12 months of quiet reflection, Holly is finally ready to step back into the spotlight.
She has agreed to be the host of new Netflix reality competition show Bear Hunt in a deal worth close to seven figures — which means she will earn more in just a few weeks from that than she made in a year at ITV.
And she will return to front Dancing On Ice, alongside her pal Stephen Mulhern.
A source told us: “Leaving This Morning has opened up new opportunities for Holly.
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“Being free from being a double act with Phil [Phillip Schofield] has been good for her as well.
Last month she returned to the National Television Awards for the first time since leaving This Morning, with people screaming that they love her as she walked the red carpet.
“A year ago she would have been up on stage with Phil.
“She will return to Dancing On Ice with Stephen this winter and has agreed to present a couple of shows of You Bet! with him — but she is very much doing her own thing, too.”
Deepfake porn images
Holly, 43, has also been carefully considering who she trusts in her inner circle, and has rekindled former friendships.
Having always relied heavily on her sister Kelly for support, recently she reconnected with Fearne Cotton.
The pair met when they were just teenagers starting out in TV and did Celebrity Juice together too, but had drifted apart for a while.
A source said: “Fearne started living holistically, concentrating on self-care while Holly was still on TV.
“But then Holly went down the same path and started meditating and appreciating and researching holistic therapies.
“When she set up her wellness brand, Wylde Moon, she and Fearne were back on the same page again.”
Holly was able to start getting her life back on track in July when the man behind the chilling kidnap plot, 35st security guard Gavin Plumb, from Harlow, Essex, was sentenced.
It was only then that the truly terrifying details of his sinister plans emerged — which Holly had known about for months.
He had a string of previous convictions relating to kidnapping and false imprisonment and took to the internet to recruit others to help him ambush Holly at her home.
He kept hundreds of photos of her, including deepfake pornographic images.
Chillingly, he had also bought cable ties and a folding knife as well as appearing to have sourced chloroform for his planned attack.
Plumb chatted online in graphic terms about his twisted scheme — not realising one person he was communicating with was an undercover cop in Minnesota who alerted the UK authorities.
He was eventually given three concurrent life sentences for conspiracy to kidnap and murder.
The case, which had dragged on for nearly ten months, took a heavy emotional toll on Holly and she quit This Morning on October 10 last year, exhausted and fearful, before turning down all work appearances.
That long wait had been excruciating for the presenter, with her life in limbo.
A source said: “Plumb was behind bars but she thought if it had happened once, it could happen again.
“She was scared. Not many people actually go through something that horrific and life-changing, but Holly has.”
For months Holly lived in absolute fear. She put the shutters down and concentrated on what was really important and that was the safety of her family
She paused her lucrative sidelines, including a £1million deal with M&S and another seven-figure partnership with L’Oreal to promote hair dye.
When she finally returned to TV, Holly needed body doubles to protect her.
Then she moved out of her home and left London with her husband, Dan Baldwin, and their three children.
Pal Fearne had also previously quit the capital when she had children.
TV producer Dan also increased security measures at their house in a bid to help the family feel safer.
A source said: “For months Holly lived in absolute fear.
“She put the shutters down and concentrated on her family’s safety.
“She didn’t take any risks and ITV even hired a body double for the run-throughs to help her deal with her fears.
“It was still tough and horrible but she needed some normality.
“She continued with some of her charity work too and in February she and Dan went away for the night for her 43rd birthday.
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“Mainly though, Holly just kind of nested in the safety of their home with her husband and the kids.
“She focused on herself and made sure that what had happened to her wouldn’t destroy her.
“Holly and Dan have always had a happy marriage and a wonderful family life but after nearly losing it all, she needed their security more than ever.
“She spent more time behind closed doors with friends and family, going to the theatre discreetly and doing fewer public events.”
Holly has always had a strong group of female friends — among them Christine Lampard, Nicole Appleton and Emma Bunton.
‘Just nonsense’
And comedian Leigh Francis, who worked with Holly on his show Celebrity Juice from 2008 to 2020 as Keith Lemon, spoke out about his friend at the time.
He said: “I don’t think she’s in a good place. She’s having a tough time.
“I just text her messages to cheer her up.
“I just go, ‘Hope you’re OK’, and tell her about things I’ve bought.
“Like, ‘I’ve just wasted my money on some Spider-Man Crocs, Holly. Do you like them?’
By the time Holly left This Morning, co-host Phillip had already been axed after it was revealed he had lied about having an affair with a much younger assistant on the show.
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He and Holly are no longer on speaking terms, and this week he appeared in three-part desert island documentary Cast Away on Channel 5, ranting about the “three s**ts of showbiz”.
On the podcast The Rest Is Entertainment, host Marina Hyde said: “I suspect that one is Holly who, by the way, has gone through some horrendous, horrific stuff in the last year.
“As we know, Phillip Schofield was let go, fired, resigned from — there seem to be a number of conflicting narratives — from This Morning because he had a relationship with a much, much younger member of very, very junior staff, which he consistently lied about.
“And the relationship with his co-host Holly had broken down partly for that reason, but for other reasons as well, some of which can’t be discussed.”
But those close to the star say Holly doesn’t care about the sniping from her former friend.
Our source said: “After what she has been through, remarks like that are just nonsense.
“On Thursday — the anniversary of her leaving This Morning — she will undoubtedly reflect on the past year.
“Although it has been hellish for her, the future looks brighter now.”