'We'll tie up the family before taking Holly': Chilling message allegedly sent by security guard Gavin Plumb who is accused of plotting to rape and murder TV presenter Willoughby

The security guard accused of plotting to rape and murder Holly Willoughby had planned to tie up her whole family before kidnapping the star, a court heard yesterday.

Gavin Plumb, 37, allegedly discussed the plan with another man online, saying: 'I'm actually looking forward to doing it. I'm at the point where I don't care about the risks or consequences.'

The guard's first known reference to Ms Willoughby, 43, found in electronic devices seized from his flat in Harlow, Essex, was in 2021, when he is said to have looked up fake images on a free porn website, Chelmsford Crown Court was told. 

However, a police officer giving evidence said there were 'millions' of images of the mother-of-three and other celebrities and police had only managed to go through about 10 per cent of them.

He is accused of planning to enter the former This Morning host's London property with other 'obsessive' fans, who would then move her to a 'dungeon-style room' elsewhere in the country where no one could hear her screams and 'repeatedly rape' her, before murdering her and disposing of her body in a lake.

The jury was taken through a sequence of events yesterday by prosecutor Alison Morgan KC and Detective Constable William Belsham, from Essex Police, who helped sift through Plumb's electronic devices. The document chronologically details the prosecution's case against him.

The father-of-one began chatting online with an individual called Marc in late 2021, with the man allegedly writing: 'We do a home invasion, tie the whole family up and take her.

'Could even... burn the house down or shoot the rest of her family.'

Plumb is said to have discussed Ms Willoughby's security, saying: 'I know she doesn't have security unless she's going to a major TV event.'

He allegedly also discussed restraining the entire family, saying to Marc: 'We'll wait for him [husband TV producer Dan Baldwin, 49] to leave then strike... or we'll tie them up as well before taking her... pick out some of her outfits... we'll be masked up.'

The men discussed access routes to the Dancing On Ice presenter's home, the jury heard, with Plumb referring to an 'ambush point'.

Among the 'numerous' images of Ms Willoughby that Plumb shared with Marc were deepfake porn photos.

Plumb, who prosecutors say was in contact with a number of people about the plot, was arrested in October last year after striking up a relationship with a man called David Nelson, who turned out to be a US-based undercover police officer.

Ms Willoughby pulled out of an appearance on This Morning following his arrest in October last year and quit the show a few days later.

Plumb denies soliciting kidnap, rape and murder. The trial continues.