Holly Willoughby ‘obsessed’ security guard bought restraint kit to abduct, rape and murder her, court told

Former This Morning presenter Holly Willoughby (Lucy North/PA) (PA Wire)

An “obsessed” security guard who purchased a restraint kit to abduct, rape and murder Holly Willoughby knew how to “terrify and overpower a woman”, a court heard.

Gavin Plumb, 37, had previously attacked women using both a knife and an imitation firearm before he allegedly formulated a detailed plan to abuse and kill the television personality in a home invasion.

A trial heard it was his “ultimate fantasy” to target Ms Willoughby, 43, and he had purchased metal cable ties as he discussed the alleged attack.

Follow our trial live blog here for updates.

The shopping centre security guard is accused of soliciting an undercover US officer he met online to join a plot to commit murder, and incitement to kidnap and rape the former This Morning presenter. Plumb, of Harlow, Essex, denies all charges.

The court heard how Plumb unwittingly explained his plans in an online discussion with the officer, who used the pseudonym David Nelson. He tried to encourage the officer to commit the offences with him, the court heard.

“The prosecution’s case is that this defendant’s online discussions reveal his real intention to carry out a plot to kidnap Holly Willoughby from her family home; to take her to a location where she would be raped repeatedly, before the defendant then intended to kill her,” prosecutor Alison Morgan KC told the court.

“It was not just the ramblings of a fantasist. The defendant had carefully planned what he would do and how he would do it, purchasing items that would assist him in carrying out the attack.”

Jurors at Chelmsford Crown Court were told how Plumb had previously tried to abduct women from a train on two occasions in 2006 – once using a fake gun in a bid to force his victim to comply.

He later held two teenage girls at knifepoint in a shop stockroom in 2008. He was tying one girl’s hands behind her back with ropes when the other escaped and called for help.

Opening the case on Monday, prosecutor Ms Morgan KC said the defendant’s history showed that his plans were “not just a fantasy”.

“These were real offences, committed against real women, involving this defendant threatening them and trying to control and detain them,” she told the court.

“He had an imitation firearm. He had ropes, he had tape. He had bound the hands of one of the victims.

“When you consider the discussions about Holly Willoughby and what this defendant planned to do to her, you will do so in the context of those earlier offences.

“They tell you that this defendant knew what it would take to terrify and overpower a woman. He was also someone who had chosen to do this for real, not just as a fantasy.”

Jurors were told how Plumb had also disclosed his obsession with Ms Willoughby, who has waived her right to anonymity, in a series of conversations during 2021 and 2022 in with an online user called ‘Marc’.

He shared images of Ms Willoughby’s home, discussed ‘ambush points’ and shared deepfake pornographic images of the Dancing on Ice presenter as he hatched a plan with Marc.

In describing exactly what he wanted to do to Ms Willoughby, the defendant said: “...getting her has been my ultimate fantasy for way too long. I’m now at the point that fantasy isn’t enough anymore. I want the real thing.”

In April 2022, he purchased “heavy duty” metal cable ties from Amazon, the court heard.

Plumb, who appeared wearing a grey tracksuit, denies all charges.

The trial continues.