It was the phone call that changed everything for Holly Willoughby.
For months, the former breakfast show host had been all but housebound – too frightened to go outside ever since the terrifying discovery that she had been the target of a kidnap, rape and murder plot.
But, Holly tells the Mail in an exclusive interview, hearing adventurer Bear Grylls on the end of the telephone line was the beginning of the end of the torment that had plagued not just her life but those around her for more than a year.
The ex-SAS reservist was calling to make her an offer she couldn’t refuse: the opportunity to be his co-host on a new celebrity adventure programme for Netflix, Celebrity Bear Hunt, in the Costa Rican rainforest.
The call came before sexual predator Gavin Plumb was found guilty of the vile plot on Holly and handed a life sentence.
But Holly, now 43, was determined it would be her way back to normality, after quitting This Morning in October 2023 – days after Plumb’s kidnap and murder plot was made public. She said yes immediately.
How a month in the jungle with Bear Grylls was the reset Holly Willoughby needed after the horror kidnap plot against her
Holly, 43, fronts the new Netflix series with the survival expert. It lands on the streaming platform on Wednesday February 5
‘It felt like the right time for me,’ she tells me when we meet at the Raffles hotel in London at Netflix’s launch for Bear Hunt – an eight-part reality series that sees 12 celebrities including ex-jailbird tennis legend Boris Becker, flamboyant interiors guru Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen and Spice Girl Mel B try to outsmart survival expert Bear in a series of challenges.
She smiles as she reveals her decision was prompted by her children: Harry, 16; Belle, 13 and Chester, ten.
The previous months had been painful for them, too.
‘When Bear called and described the premise of the show, I was like, ‘Okay, well, it sounds great. It also sounds like a show that my kids would love – they love Bear – so it was a bit of a no-brainer.
‘For a long time, I think because my kids were younger, I didn’t like leaving the country for so long. Even when I went out to Australia for I’m A Celeb, the kids came with me. It just felt like a really exciting project. This was definitely a ‘yes’ on a spot.’
Unlike her stint in the jungle in 2018, when Holly stepped in to replace Ant McPartlin to host the ITV show, bringing her children along was not possible: Harry was doing his GCSEs.
So, off she went for a month to Costa Rica in July without the kids or her television producer husband Dan Baldwin, 50.
For Holly, after everything she had been through, it was the reset she needed. ‘We FaceTimed every morning and every night,’ says Holly.
The show – filmed last year – sees 12 celebrities battling against each other in the Costa Rican jungle
The cast of celebrities includes the likes of Lottie Moss, Mel B, Una Healy and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen
At last night’s premiere for the series, she was sporting a stunning off-the-shoulder gown by British designer David Koma that cost £1,800
‘It was Harry’s birthday when I was away and it was the first time I’d missed a birthday. I think I missed them more than they missed me! They had a riot and loads of takeaways. Dan did a good job – the wheels didn’t fall off entirely.’
As Holly told me about her adventures in Costa Rica with Bear, her trademark grin was evident. It was refreshing to see. Since Plumb’s plot became public – after which Holly was given police protection – I’ve been well aware of the struggles she’s endured.
There was some relief when Plumb – who has previous convictions for kidnap and attempted kidnap – was found guilty of soliciting murder and inciting rape and kidnap last summer after a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.
But, Holly, who bravely waived her right to anonymity, describes the ordeal as ‘tough,’ adding ‘nothing can prepare you for something like that’.
It has, she says, made her more determined to focus on the positives.
Holly giggles about some of the more trivial struggles she has endured recently. ‘It was so hot that my hair got bigger by the second, like Monica out of Friends,’ she laughs.
‘The heat was its own entity out there. I’d never worked in heat like that, Bear is completely used to it… he’d be walking around all rugged.’
Then there was her wardrobe. Throughout Holly’s 25-year career in television, her clothes have been a talking point.
Some of her dresses have been so revealing they prompted Ofcom complaints.
And at last night’s premiere for the series, she was sporting a stunning off-the-shoulder gown by British designer David Koma that cost £1,800. But what did she wear to present a show that involved flying in a helicopter and handling tarantulas?
Holly took her stylist Danielle Whiteman along to ensure she pulled off the ‘glamouflage’ look – finished off with Holly’s range of boots by British shoemaker Grenson.
‘The wardrobe is all very different to Dancing On Ice and This Morning,’ she says. There was a moment when Holly found herself suffering a wardrobe malfunction while in a harness – and was saved by gaffer tape.
‘I had a skirt on and Scottie who does all the safety, was like, ‘You’ve got to put a harness on, that skirt is not going to stay down.’
‘But I had some tape with me and put it all down my legs. He told me it was never going to last but I replied: ‘You do your safety, this is my safety!’ By the time I landed it was perfect.’
Holly also had to be a rock during filming for celebrities who found themselves in tricky situations, including when television presenter Steph McGovern fell from a cliff and helping Shirley Ballas with her fear of heights: ‘I could see she was pushing herself to do things. She had a real fear of heights. I’m looking at her and she’s looking at me. With my eyes, I told her: ‘It’s OK, it’s fine, just breathe.’
A lot has changed for Holly in the past 18 months. She is now free in the mornings to do the school run and Holly is delighted about that.
The show has marked Holly’s return to TV after she took a break following the kidnap plot
The Celebrity Bear Hunt cast are pictured
But her youngest, Chester, found it hard to adjust to his mum suddenly being around all of the time, she says.
‘He got home from school and I was asking how his day was. He was like: ‘Just because you don’t have a job any more, Mum, we do. We are at school and we are really tired.’
Hopefully Chester and his siblings will be impressed by Holly’s new show, which goes out on Netflix for the first time today – and her new ‘work husband. ‘Mummy goes to work with Bear,’ her children say to her.
‘I know. Brownie points!’ is her cheeky reply. And with that, we know the old Holly is back.
Celebrity Bear Hunt: Meet The Cast!
MEL B
Age: 48
Profession: Spice Girl, TV presenter and X Factor judge
LEOMIE ANDERSON
Age: 31
Profession: Model, Victoria’s Secret star and TV presenter for BBC Three’s Glow Up:
KOLA BOKINNI
Age: 31
Profession: Actor and Ted Lasso star
UNA HEALY
Age: 42
Profession: Singer and former member of The Saturdays
LOTTIE MOSS
Age: 26
Profession: Model and influencer
STEPH MCGOVERN
Age: 41
Profession: TV presenter and journalist
Age: 63
Profession: Former dancer and Strictly Come Dancing’s head judge
Age: 56
Profession: Former tennis star and Wimbledon champion
LAURENCE LLEWELYN-BOWEN
Age: 59
Profession: Interior design expert and Changing Rooms star
Age: 28
Profession: Rapper and TV chef
Age: 36
Profession: Retired rugby player
JOE THOMAS
Age: 40
Profession: Actor and Inbetweeners star
