Holly Willoughby has said “women should not be made to feel unsafe going about our daily lives and in our own homes” after a convicted violent offender was found guilty of masterminding a plot to kidnap, rape and murder her.
Gavin Plumb, 37, was obsessed with the television host, amassing more than 10,000 images of her on his phone including deepfake pornography. He was caught after unwittingly communicating online with an undercover police officer based in the US, who flagged him to UK authorities.
The jury heard Plumb had previous convictions for attempted kidnap and false imprisonment. In 2006 he tried to force two female cabin crew members off a train with a fake gun and threatening note and in 2008 he attempted to tie up two teenage girls in a Woolworths stock room.
Chelmsford crown court heard the security guard carefully planned how to abduct Willoughby from her home, take her to his residence in Harlow, Essex, and murder her in an abandoned building.
Plumb, who admitted he spent “99.9%” of his time on the internet, had denied the allegations and insisted the plot was “fantasy” and nothing more than “online chat” that he told the court was “massively regrettable”.
But on Thursday, a jury found him guilty of three charges: soliciting murder, encouraging or assisting the commission of kidnap, and encouraging or assisting the commission of rape.
After the verdicts, Willoughby released a statement.
“As women, we should not be made to feel unsafe going about our daily lives and in our own homes,” she said. “I will forever be grateful to the undercover police officer who understood the imminent threat, and to the Metropolitan and Essex police forces for their swift response.”
She thanked others involved “for ensuring that justice was done and that the defendant will not be able to harm any more women”, adding: “I would also like to commend the bravery of his previous victims for speaking up at the time. Without their bravery this conviction may not have been possible.”
Plumb wept and slowly shook his head as the jury foreman read out the verdicts. Judge Murray told Plumb he would be sentenced on 12 July and remanded him in custody.
Nicola Rice, a specialist prosecutor in the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Gavin Plumb is a dangerous man who plotted unspeakable violence against one of the nation’s most familiar faces.
“Despite his attempts to pass himself off as a harmless fantasist, the prosecution persuaded the jury that Plumb posed a very real threat.
“The chilling details of his plans were laid bare with the help of an undercover officer from the US who alerted the FBI to the threat, and the seriousness of Plumb’s scheme was exposed when the prosecution successfully applied to tell the jury about Plumb’s previous convictions.
“I hope his conviction brings some comfort to Holly Willoughby and her family and shows others that the Crown Prosecution Service will always seek the strongest possible charges against those who plot violence against women.”
Willoughby did not attend the trial and was not involved in the police investigation. She 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 co-host of Dancing on Ice the following year.
Plumb had bought cable ties and a folding knife, and appeared to have sourced chloroform for his attack on Willoughby. He had also engaged in graphic and sexually motivated discussions about the planned attack online.
He was unaware that one of the people with whom he was communicating was an undercover police officer based in the 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.
The jury was given details of his previous offences. On 14 August 2006, the defendant approached a female cabin crew member on a train and showed her a graphic and threatening note.
Two days later, he attempted a similar approach with an imitation firearm but the victim – again a female cabin crew member – refused to get off the train with him. Plumb was arrested and found to be in possession of an imitation firearm, ropes and various notes. He was sentenced to a suspended jail term.
Two years later, in November 2008, Plumb was working at a Woolworths in Harlow, where he forced two 16-year-olds into the stock room at knife-point and tied the hands of one of the girls before the other escaped and raised the alarm. He served 16 months in prison, half the 32-month sentence.
In December 2021, Plumb 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, 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 defendant’s 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.”
