Holly Willoughby has admitted she doubted whether she would ever return to the spotlight after a horrific failed plot to kidnap, rape and murder her forced her to quit ITV's This Morning in 2023.
The 45-year-old presenter left the daytime show following the shocking conspiracy, which saw security guard Gavin Plumb sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 16 years in July 2024. The departure also came amid a turbulent period after her former co-host Philip Schofield left This Morning in May 2023 following his affair with a younger male colleague, dragging the show into a major scandal.
Holly's Reflection on Leaving Public Life
Holly has now reflected on her departure from public life and how she was unsure if she'd ever come back. She told The Sun: "If I'm being really honest, everybody knows what happened to me ... and I just needed time out. 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."
She admitted that "it certainly wasn't a given" that she would be in front of the camera ever again. Holly, who described the last two years as a "reset", confessed she thought her forties would be the 'decade of having her life sorted'. However, "life had a different plan" for her, but she now feels "good" and that she wouldn't be doing the show if she didn't.
New YouTube Show 'Together'
Holly has now revealed she is launching her own lifestyle series called Together on YouTube, which will see her chat to celebrities such as Stanley Tucci, Katherine Ryan, Emma Bunton and Nicole Appleton. The first episode, produced by her husband Dan Baldwin's company Hungry Bear Media, will launch on July 28.
Even during her break, Holly was thinking about the next chapter in her career. After leaving This Morning, she went to film Netflix's Celebrity Bear Hunt with Bear Grylls, but it didn't land when it aired in 2025. She also didn't return to her pal Stephen Mulhern's ITV reboot of You Bet!, which has now been shelved.
She explained that she didn't know what she was going to do during her time out and that although different things came along they "never felt quite right" for her. Holly said she needed to 'listen to herself' and "just pause everything".
Inspiration from Her Children
Holly and Dan came up with the idea for taking to YouTube because of how much their three children consumed content on the platform. The presenter said that although she was her authentic self on This Morning, this new show will "feel different".
Holly's return to the spotlight marks a new chapter after the traumatic events that forced her out of the public eye. She now appears ready to engage with audiences again, albeit on her own terms and through a digital platform.
