After a rollercoaster few years in the public eye, Dancing On Ice host Holly Willoughby is taking life ‘one day at a time’ and choosing to ‘positively move forward’

Holly Willoughby is starting fresh after a tough few years in the spotlight.

The Dancing on Ice presenter, 44, chose to step down from her hosting duties on This Morning in October 2023, around the time she terrifyingly fell victim to a foiled kidnap plot. But now, 18 months later, Holly is feeling positive about the future and taking each day as it comes.

Following Phillip Schofield’s exit from ITV after lying about an ‘unwise’ affair with a younger colleague, Holly now co-hosts the ice skating show with Stephen Mulhern. She has also taken on a solo venture as the presenter of Netflix’s new series, Celebrity Bear Hunt, with Bear Grylls.

Speaking to The Mirror earlier this month at the premiere for the show, Holly, 43, said: “All I’ve learned out of life is you never know what’s around the corner. So, I’m like, one day at a time, one step at a time, just like in the jungle.”

Holly alongside Bear Grylls at the ‘Celebrity Bear Hunt’ Special Screening at the Odeon West End on February 04, 2025 ( 
Image:
WireImage)

Holly left This Morning in October 2023, around the time she fell victim to a foiled kidnap plot ( 
Image:
Getty Images)

It was her first time doing promo for a TV project after security guard Gavin Plumb was jailed for masterminding a plot to kidnap, rape and murder her. Asked if the series represents a fresh start, Holly said: “I think when you do anything new, it feels like that. And it’s nice to try new things and go to new places. I’ve never been to Central America before, so this just felt like the right thing to do at the right time. Sometimes it’s nice to be out of your comfort zone.”

Holly left her TV producer husband, Dan Baldwin, and their children, Harry, 15, Belle, 13, and Chester, 10, at home for three weeks of filming in Costa Rica. She said: “My kids are that little bit older now, so it felt like the right time that I could do it, you know, the wheels weren’t going to fall off my life if I left home.”

In July last year, Holly and Dan purchased a new family home, reportedly worth £8 million, and renovated it before moving in. Following the kidnap plot, the family-of-five reportedly installed state-of-the-art security systems for safety and have since not shared a single glimpse of it online.

In a recent interview, Holly spoke about moving on and revealed how difficult the past year has been. She told The Times: “It’s been a tough one. There’s no way of sugar-coating it. Nothing can prepare you for something like that. When something like that happens, you have a decision to make. You either decide, right, I can take this on board, and it can absolutely affect all aspects of my life. Or I can make a choice to go, let’s focus on everything that’s positive and good, all those important things.”

Gavin Plumb, 37, was foud guilty of masterminding a plot to kidnap, rape and murder Holly Willoughby ( 
Image:
PA Media)
Plumb was handed three life sentences, each carrying a minimum jail term of 15 years and 85 days. His arrest came months after upheaval for Holly, who had fronted This Morning with Phillip for over a decade. At the time, she said she found it “very hurtful” that Phil had lied to her about his secret relationship. She later said that she found it “ hard to see the toll that [the scandal had] taken on [his] mental health”.

Phil told The Sun in 2023: “I’ve lost my best friend. I let her down.” He asserted that Holly didn’t know about his relationship and said she was one of the first recipients of an apology text from him. Phil, however, stated: “She didn’t reply and I understand why she didn’t reply.”

Six months after Phil’s exit, Holly too announced her departure from This Morning. She said at the time, she had made the decision for herself and her family. But Holly has maintained her close friendships from the show, and her ITV family have said she is dearly missed. At the National Television Awards in September, they all reunited and fellow host Josie Gibson told The Sun that they “absolutely adore” Holly and labelled her “one of the greatest broadcasters of all time”. Josie also revealed the team “miss her terribly”.