A 36-year-old man has been charged over an alleged plot to kidnap and murder the TV personality Holly Willoughby.
The This Morning presenter (42) pulled out of the ITV show on Thursday and her London home is reportedly being guarded by police, the Sun reported.
On Friday, Essex police said Gavin Plumb (36) of Potters Field, Harlow, had been charged with soliciting to commit murder, and incitement to commit kidnap.
The suspect is in custody and will appear at Chelmsford magistrates court later on Friday.
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Det Supt Rob Kirby from Essex and Kent serious crime directorate said: “This was an extremely fast-paced investigation, with many of our officers and national partners working overnight to secure these charges.
“The safeguarding of any victim is paramount and we will continue to prioritise this and working with the Metropolitan police service as the investigation proceeds.”
Plumb was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of conspiracy to kidnap.
This Morning bosses were alerted to the alleged plot on Thursday morning and the presenter decided to pull out shortly before she was due to go on air, the newspaper added. Alison Hammond replaced the 42-year-old to present the show alongside Josie Gibson without explanation.
Gibson started the morning show as she said: “Look who’s joined me. It’s only the one and only Alison Hammond!”
Hammond said: “Oh, Josie! I hope you don’t mind, I got a bit jealous. I saw you and Holly, and you were talking about being blonde and I thought: ‘I’m going to shake this up a bit. I’m getting in there’. Is that OK? You don’t mind?”
A spokesperson for ITV said: “This news has come as a huge shock to everyone at This Morning and ITV. We are providing all of the support we can to Holly and her family at this incredibly distressing time.”
On This Morning on Friday, Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond briefly addressed the events at the top of the show.
O’Leary said: “We are not going to talk too much about it but Holly is on the front pages after police arrested a 36-year-old man over an alleged kidnap plot. He has now been charged by Essex police.”
Hammond added: “We are obviously all shocked to hear the news and we want to send our love and biggest hugs to Holly and her family.”
ITV is understood to be providing round-the-clock security and support for Willoughby alongside the police at her home, where she lives with her husband and three children.
Willoughby appeared on social media channels on Wednesday, wishing her husband a happy birthday in an Instagram post, followed by another post ahead of Wednesday’s programme listing that morning’s lineup of guests.
Willoughby’s ITV colleague Lorraine Kelly mentioned the story on Friday’s episode of her programme Lorraine, saying it was “very, very upsetting”.
She added: “Of course we are sending Holly all of our love and best wishes, that is a terrible thing to be having to go through for her and her family.” – The Guardian