Holly Willoughby releases heartfelt statement vowing women 'should not feel unsafe in our own homes' after 35-stone security guard is found guilty of kidnap, rape and murder plot - as she is praised by police for her courage

Holly Willoughby has broken her silence on Gavin Plumb's plot to kidnap, rape and murder her - thanking the police and her legal team who brought him to justice.

The former This Morning host released a statement today - less than two hours after he was convicted in which she also praised the security guard's previous female victims after their evidence helped find him guilty.

Holly, 43, said: 'As women we should not be made to feel unsafe going about our daily lives and in our own homes.

'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.

'Thank you to the Crown Prosecution Service, the Rt Hon Mr Justice Murray, Alison Morgan KC, the members of the jury and all involved in this case for ensuring that justice was done and that the defendant will not be able to harm any more women.

'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, 37, claimed he wasn't physically capable of abducting the former This Morning presenter, had no one qualified to drive to her London home, and that vile conversations he had with 'like-minded' people in dark recesses of the internet were 'just online chat'.

But a jury took 12 hours and 19 minutes to find him guilty after being presented with a raft of shocking evidence, including a chloroform restraint kit that he planned to use it to kidnap Ms Willoughby. He then planned to take the TV presenter to an isolated stud farm for sexual torture, kill her and dump her body in a lake.

Plumb slowly shook his head and stared at the floor of the dock as he was unanimously convicted of soliciting murder and inciting rape and kidnap. He then began to weep as he was sent down to the cells, sniffling as he tried to hold back tears.

The defendant, who weighed up to 30 stone and adopted the user name Big Bear to chat to others about his plot online, appeared to formulate his fantasy as early as 2011 - googling the phrase 'how to meet people who plan to kidnap celebs'.

But his plans were foiled when one of his potential accomplices, who went by the name of David Nelson, turned out to be an undercover officer from the Owatonna Police Department in the US state of Minnesota.

Jurors heard that Plumb had form when it came to 'terrifying real women', including convictions for attempted kidnap and false imprisonment following three incidents involving four women in 2006 and 2008.

Plumb was heard discussing the horrifying plot to abduct, rape and then kill the 43-year-old presenter during a series of horrifying voice notes played to the court. 

The shocking recordings were sent to a potential accomplice called Marc, with Plumb saying he was looking for a place to 'hold' Holly after ambushing her at her family home.

'Nothing's confirmed yet, mate. Don't celebrate too early but it looks like… back on track for once,' Plumb says, before adding: 'Obviously, you'll find out when everything is planned. Yeah, we'll go from there.'

Plumb - who enjoyed dressing up in a Batman shirt -  is also heard talking about how he planned to strike in the dead of night and use chloroform to subdue her and her husband, the TV producer Dan Baldwin, 49.

'Plan of action, basically, we are going to hit it at night, less traffic on the road,' Plumb said. 'Chloroform both of them, making them easier to restrain. Pick out outfits of hers we like, take her and the outfits with us and then we're gone.

'We are then going to force her to make a video saying she came with us under her own free will and she's fully consenting to everything we do to her so that covers us.'

Two bottles of chloroform - a chemical that can knock a person unconscious if forced to inhale it - were later found at Plumb's home in Harlow, Essex, by police.

In another chilling audio clip, Plumb is heard saying: 'The chloroform bit is going to be fun, picking the outfits is going to be fun. 

'So if you can get to the UK, to England that'll be awesome because then you can be part of it.'

The court heard Plumb had assembled a 'restraint kit' which he bought online.

In a video played to jurors, Plumb is seen showing off all the items, which included four packs of 100 metal cable ties he bought from Amazon, handcuffs, ankle shackles, rope and a ball gag.

The court was told the 37-year-old shared a video of a 'bondage kit' with an undercover officer called David Nelson in an online forum called 'Abduct Lovers'.

He also spoke with another associate about buying realistic-looking air weapons 'from pistols to sniper rifles'.

Plumb was arrested on October 4 last year after he revealed his plan to cop Mr Nelson, who was based in Minnesota and alerted authorities in the UK.

As part of his defence, Plumb told jurors that bottles of chloroform he had purchased were to clean a carpet stain and that he had bought a BDSM kit, including a set of handcuffs, in 2014 'to rekindle my relationship with my ex-partner'.

He said he had read articles on 'what it's like to be raped' in 2021 in order to help a female friend, and did not initially hand over his phone's Pin number to officers because he had previously had 'problems' with the police.

The defendant also relied on his 'between 25-30 stone' weight as a defence - claiming that it would not be possible for him to 'jump' over Ms Willoughby's garden wall, as he had outlined in his messages.

He told jurors his online chats were 'massively regrettable' and that he was 'heartbroken, disgusted and shocked' that they had come out.

The court heard how Plumb had been planning to kidnap Willoughby 'for about two and a half years' and wanted to 'slit her throat'.

On the third day of his trial, jurors were shown more material from a 'sequence of events', including hundreds of communications he had with others online, as he tried to put together a 'crew' to help him attack Willoughby and other celebrities.

However, the court heard Plumb began his research into kidnapping stars more than a decade ago.

When police seized his phone, they discovered in 2011, he had looked up 'how to meet people who plan to kidnap celebrities'.

In more voice notes, Plumb is heard saying Willoughby was the 'original target' but he and others had about '15 cells' they were 'looking at filling'.

Talking about Willoughby and another potential target, the security guard added: 'We could do both at the same time - meet up, swap vehicles, get both in the same vehicle, take them to their new location basically.'

Plumb, who has previous convictions for trying to kidnap two women on trains and tying a 16-year-old girl up at knifepoint, also researched a news story about an American college student being abducted.

Jurors heard police recovered millions of images of Holly and other female celebs on his devices following his arrest. Plumb had also shared deepfake pornography of her online.

The 37-year-old fiend spent years fixating on the former This Morning star - tracking her movements and activities for 'some time'.

In May 2022, Plumb sought to book a tour of ITV's studios, telling accomplice Marc, who is believed to have been based in Ireland: 'I'm calling the studio tours tomorrow to see if they're still available and if you meet presenters.'

Plumb never went on such a tour, with Essex Police Detective Constable Will Belsham telling jurors there was no evidence to she he had followed through with this plan.

Earlier in the trial, Plumb claimed he wanted to try and use his security training to get close to Willoughby, working as part of her protection team.

'I have passed my SIA [Security Industry Authority] licence so might try to use it to become her security guard,' he said.

In other messages, Plumb detailed an abandoned stud farm in the country as a place where he could 'keep' Holly locked away while he violated her.

He detailed the plans with associate Marc, telling him: 'I'm at the point where idc (I don't care) about the risks or consequences.'

He went online to search the term 'how long does chloroform take to knock someone unconscious?'

Plumb is said to have shared details of an app that creates an AI 'avatar'.

He told Marc: 'You can talk about literally all, all sorts of things, you can be as filthy as you want or you can be as clean as you want.

'Erm and you can create your own avatars and they actually look like they're moving, look like they're talking to ya.

'So the people I'm with er Holly and yeah, I'm kind of having my fun with that lot.'

On June 1, 2023, Plumb wrote: 'I've had a member of the Holly group reach out to me. He knows the location of an abandoned building and he's up for it big time...

'We're gonna go and do stakeout and bang job done, s**** going down as it stands.'

Messaging each other a few days after Phillip Schofield left This Morning in May last year, Plumb wrote: 'I'm so tempted to message Phil and say to him 'Look do you wanna get payback? But I don't mind helping ya.'

Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said Plumb had 'carefully planned' his plot - before he was foiled by the authorities.

In her opening speech, the barrister told jurors: 'The defendant's plans as to what he would do to Holly Willoughby were graphic and were obviously sexually motivated.

'They were real to him, members of the jury, and were based on an obsession with Holly Willoughby that had developed over a number of years.'

She said Plumb had intended 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'.

'It was not just the ramblings of a fantasist,' Ms Morgan added.

'The defendant had carefully planned what he would do and how he would do it, purchasing items that would assist him in carrying out that attack.'

Ms Morgan said Plumb's previous kidnap attempts 'tell you that this defendant knew what it would take to terrify and overpower a woman'.

She told the jury: 'On August 14 2006, the defendant approached a woman on a train.

He sat opposite her and stared at her, before showing her a note which said: 'I have got a gun. All you have to do is keep quiet. Do what I say. So just stand up and get off at the next stop with me. Don't cry or make a sound. Don't stop me from touching you because I won't hurt you. If you do all of this, no-one will get hurt but if you don't I am going to shoot you and myself and everyone else'.

'The victim was terrified and began to cry.

'Others on the train came over, at which point the defendant tore up the note and ran off at the next stop.'

Telling the court about the second victim, Ms Morgan said: 'Two days later, the defendant attempted to force another woman to get off a train with him.

'This time he was armed with an imitation firearm.

'He adopted the same approach, showing the victim a note, this time he suggested that he was a police officer and that he needed her to get off the train so that he could speak to her.

'She refused to get off the train with him but when she did get off the train, she reported the matter to the police.

'The defendant was found to be in possession of an imitation firearm, three rope ligatures and various notes that he had used or intended to use to try to get women off the train.'

Ms Morgan also told the court that, two years later, two 16-year-olds who worked at a shop in Harlow, Essex, were also the subject of approaches by Plumb.

The prosecutor said: 'They were carrying out restocking on the first floor of the unit.

'The defendant approached them and said 'Get to the back of the stockroom'.

'He pulled out a knife and held it towards them, telling them to turn around and to put their hands behind their backs.

'He then took some rope and tape out of his pocket and he tied the hands of one of girls.

'As he did so, the other girl managed to escape and she managed to raise the alarm. Both of the girls were terrified.

'The police were called and they arrested the defendant.'

Willoughby waived her right to anonymity in connection with an accusation against Plumb of assisting or encouraging rape.

Alleged victims of sex offences or targets of sex offence conspiracies have a right to automatic anonymity for life from the moment an allegation is made by them or anyone else.

Plumb was arrested on October 4. Ms Willoughby was told of his plot just before going on air the next day and someone stood in for her. She quit the show days later.

She said in a social media post at the time that she felt 'I have to make this decision for me and my family'.

The presenter has since hosted Dancing On Ice 2024 and will present a Netflix show, to be released next year, in which adventurer Bear Grylls hunts down celebrities in the jungle.

The prosecution will be applying for a restraining order and a sexual harm prevention order at Gavin Plumb's sentencing, prosecutor Ros Earis said.

Following the guilty verdicts, 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 bear 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.'

Essex Police's senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Greg Wood said: 'Gavin Plumb is a dangerous, predatory individual who was intent on causing the most serious harm to his victim.

'He was not just simply obsessed with Holly Willoughby, he meticulously and carefully planned, over a number of years, to carry out a depraved and violent attack, in which he plotted to deprive her of her liberty and ultimately her life.

'His claims in court that he was a 'fantasist' are simply not true and were evidenced by the extent with which he plotted with others to carry out his wicked plan.

Pointing to Plumb's 'history of attacking other women', DCI Wood continued: 'He is a dangerous man and I have no doubt he was determined to carry out the acts he planned.

'Today, we are extremely grateful to our law enforcement colleague in America who not only brought Gavin Plumb to our attention, but helped gather the vital evidence that secured his conviction.

'We would also like to thank the victim who has courageously supported this case throughout and bravely waived her anonymity.

'Today, Gavin Plumb remains where he belongs - behind bars. At Essex Police we will continue to do all we can to seek out those intent on causing violence and harm to women and girls and, like this defendant, put them behind bars.

'There is simply no place for dangerous individuals like him on either the streets of Essex, or wider society, and we will do all we can to continue to make our communities safe for all.'

The sentencing will take place on July 12.