Holly Willoughby Reflects on Dark Times Ahead of Return

 has admitted there was a 'time she wasn't sure if she would ever return to the spotlight' following the horrific kidnap, rape and murder plot. 

The former This Morning star, 45, is reclaiming her fame with an exciting new  show called Together.

, which she is self-funding, will involve both producing and presenting her own show, as well as celebrity interviews.

Despite her exciting new venture, Holly has said she thought her career in the public eye was over for good at one point after a difficult few years.

'If I'm being really honest, everybody knows what happened to me and I just needed time out', Holly candidly admitted.

'I needed to go, "Do you know, I need to park all of that. I'm just going to spend time with my family and my friends and see how I am and see what happens. And then when it feels right I'll go back". But there was a time when I wasn't sure whether that would ever be a thing.'

Holly added to The Sun: 'I feel good now, though. I wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t. This is a really good sign that I feel ready.'

The Mail on Sunday first revealed in January that Holly, who has worked in television for almost 25 years and was reportedly paid £730,000 a year at , was working on a new digital project.

Holly Willoughby Together will launch on July 28 as a twice-weekly broadcast under five sections: Talk Together, Cook Together, Look Good Together, Better Together, and Hang Out Together.

She is working with a team at her husband Dan Baldwin's television production company Hungry Bear, which is behind shows such as Gladiators and Michael McIntyre's Big Show, both screened on BBC One.

'Holly has done television for 25 years, and now she wants to make her own thing,' a friend of the star told The Mail on Sunday in January. 'And now daytime television is very much on the slide and it's time for something new. She is excited, it is something so new and innovative, hopefully it will work.

'The television landscape has changed so much, people are consuming content on TikTok and other digital platforms.

'Holly has seen an opportunity now to start something new, which has a future, unlike the kind of stuff she has done in the past.'

When Holly left This Morning after learning of an extraordinary plot to kidnap, rape, and murder her, she found herself with much more time on her hands.

For 14 years, she'd been up at the crack of dawn to sit on the sofa and present the show next to her former co-star and friend, Phillip Schofield. Holly had been ITV's busiest star, and bosses at the network wanted her on screen as much as possible.

But Holly had been left badly shaken by the kidnap threat, for which former security guard Gavin Plumb was handed a life sentence in 2024.