'One day at a time': How Holly Willoughby is coping after murder plot and Schofield scandal
5 February 2025, 11:56
Holly Willoughby is taking life 'one day at a time' after the murder plot and Schofield scandal of last year.
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Holly Willoughby, 43, presenter of Netflix's Celebrity Bear Hunt, says co-star Bear Grylls has helped her cope with the shocking events of last year.
Willoughby was victim to a sickening kidnap and murder plot last year, following her friend and co-host Phillip Schofield leaving This Morning due to an 'unwise' affair with a colleague.
She said, to The Mirror: “All I’ve learned out of life is you never know what’s around the corner,
“So I’m like, one day at a time, one step at a time, just like in the jungle.”
Willoughby's latest project, Celebrity Bear Hunt, follows 12 celebrities learning survival skills in the Costa Rican jungle with Bear Grylls.
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She told the publication about her and Gryll's friendship: "I just assumed that here was this man that had no fear.
"And actually he does have fear, but he doesn’t let that fear hold him back.
"And I thought, God, that’s brilliant. It really is something I want to try, and even if I can do it a tiny bit, then I think that will help.”
Willoughby leapt out of her comfort zone, solo hosting the show and leaving her three children, Harry, 15, Belle, 13, and Cheste, 10, to film for three weeks.
She said: "It’s nice to try new things and go to new places. I’ve never been to Central America before, so this just felt like the right thing to do at the right time.
"Sometimes it’s nice to be out of your comfort zone. And when Bear calls me and said, ‘you want to go on an adventure?’ I was like, yes, 100%."
Celebrities on the show include Spice Girl Mel B, Strictly judge Shirley Ballas, Journalist Steph McGovern, tennis player Boris Becker and TV presenter Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.
The presenter left ITV's This Morning in October 2023 after the grim details of the kidnapping plot were revealed.
Gavin Plumb, 37, was found guilty of soliciting murder and inciting rape and kidnap after he concocted the evil plan.
It involved seeking out like-minded men to help him stage a ‘home invasion' at Willoughby’s home.
The security guard stalker was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 16 years following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.
Willoughby waived her right to anonymity in connection with Mr Plumb’s charges.
Willoughby told The Sunday Times magazine in January: "It's been a tough one. There's no way of sugarcoating it."
She added: “Nothing can prepare you for something like that. When something like that happens, you have a decision to make.
”While things have been difficult, the presenter is still trying to remain optimistic."
She said: “You 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.
“I’m healthy and I’m happy. I’ve got a wonderful husband and children and family, I’ve got great friends. 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 that she never felt she would crumble as it was "not an option", adding that "so many people go through tough things, they just do."
