Holly Willoughby: man jailed for at least 16 years for kidnap, rape and murder plot

A former security guard obsessed with Holly Willoughby has been sentenced to life with a minimum term of 16 years for masterminding a plot to kidnap, rape and murder the TV presenter.

Gavin Plumb, 37, carefully planned a “home invasion” at Willoughby’s property where he planned to tie her up and rape her in front of her family before murdering her and disposing of her body in an abandoned building on the outskirts of London.

He had amassed more than 10,000 images of Willoughby on his phone including deepfake pornography and was caught after unwittingly communicating online with an undercover police officer based in the US.

During his trial at Chelmsford crown court, the jury heard Plumb had previous convictions for attempted kidnap and false imprisonment. In 2006, using a fake gun and threatening note, he tried to force two female airline workers off trains in separate incidents, and in 2008 he attempted to tie up two teenage girls in a Woolworths stock room.

He was found guilty last week of three charges: soliciting murder, encouraging or assisting the commission of kidnap, and encouraging or assisting the commission of rape.

Willoughby stepped down from her role as presenter of ITV’s This Morning six days after Plumb was arrested on 4 October 2023 after 14 years on the show. She returned to screens as the co-host of Dancing on Ice the following year.

For his planned attack on Willoughby, Plumb had bought cable ties and a folding knife, and appeared to have sourced chloroform. He had also engaged in graphic and sexually motivated discussions about it online.

He was unaware that one of the people with whom he was communicating was an undercover police officer based in Owatonna police department in Minnesota, who alerted UK authorities, leading to Plumb’s arrest.

Plumb gathered information about Willoughby on social media and followed her activities and movements. In December 2021, he had identified where Willoughby lived and shared images of her home with someone online referred to as “Marc”, who the court heard was thought to live in Ireland and had boasted of being convicted of stalking.

Plumb shared images of Willoughby’s address and discussed “a home invasion” while wearing masks, and he discussed the layout of the property, gates, CCTV and the alley to the side. He also discussed identifying “abandoned places” outside London, trying to get on a tour of the ITV studios, and using his training as a security officer to get employment with Willoughby.

The jury was played a voice note sent by Plumb in which he explained his “plan of action”, which included picking “outfits of hers that we like”.

In early October 2023, the US police officer in Owatonna, using the name David Nelson, was monitoring conversations in a group called “Abduct lovers”, which actively talks about the abduction of others, and their torture and murder.

Under the identity “BigBear”, Plumb posted pictures of Willoughby, then not recognised by the officer, and boasted about her security arrangements. The detailed nature of the messages concerned the officer, who reported him to the Metropolitan police via the FBI.

When Plumb was arrested, in a video seen by the jury, he told police officers: “I’m not gonna lie. She is a fantasy of mine.”