Holly Willoughby | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Willoughby in 2013 | |
| Born | Holly Marie Willoughby (1981-02-10)10 February 1981 (age 45) Brighton,East Sussex, England |
| Education | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2000–present |
| Employer(s) | ITV BBC |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | officialhollywilloughby |
Holly Marie Willoughby (/ˈwɪləbi/WIL-ə-bee; born 10 February 1981)[1][2] is an English television presenter, author and model. She has presented various television shows forITV, most notablyThis Morning (2009–2023) andDancing on Ice (2006–2011, 2018–2025).
Willoughby's other television work includesThe Xtra Factor (2008–2009),Text Santa (2011–2013, 2015),The Voice UK (2012–2013),Surprise Surprise (2012–2015),Play to the Whistle (2015–2017),I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (2018),Freeze the Fear with Wim Hof (2022), andThe Games (2022). From 2008 to 2020, she was a team captain on theITV2 comedy panel showCelebrity Juice. She is also a brand ambassador forMarks & Spencer andGarnier.
Willoughby was born inBrighton,East Sussex,[3] the younger of two daughters of Brian Willoughby, a sales manager of a double-glazing company, and Linda Willoughby (née Fleming), a former air stewardess.[4] She was raised inWoodmancote,West Sussex, and was educated at the independentBurgess Hill Girls in the town ofBurgess Hill, andThe College of Richard Collyer inHorsham.[3][5]
In 1995, at the age of 14, Willoughby was spotted by talent scouts atThe Clothes Show Live exhibition and signed with the model agency,Storm Management.[6] She appeared in teen magazines for girls such asMizz,Just Seventeen,Shout, andMore!.[citation needed] From 1998, at the age of 17, Willoughby started modellingbras,underwear andtights for clients includingPretty Polly, appearing in advertisements and posters.[citation needed]
In 2000, Willoughby won an audition for a show onCITV featuringS Club 7 calledS Club TV.[7] In this show actors represented an alternative S Club.[8] She also appeared in a show calledS Club 7: Artistic Differences playing a character called Zoe with the regular members of the band. Willoughby worked as a receptionist for a while and then as a runner for the defunct shopping channelAuction World TV.[citation needed]
Willoughby also took on menial jobs and started anOpen University course in psychotherapy. Then eventually, she found work as assistant manager during which time she persuaded a friend to make a showreel of her. This secured her an agent who then contacted theBBC.[7] Later in 2002, Willoughby presented a factual entertainment programme for children calledXchange and went on to host several other children's shows for CBBC:X-perimental andCBBC at the Fame Academy (CBBC's version of theBBC talent showFame Academy).
Willoughby's first role as a children's entertainer came when she rejoined CITV in 2004 to co-present the entertainment showMinistry of Mayhem which aired on Saturday mornings. The programme competed against CBBC'sDick & Dom in da Bungalow.[9] On this programme she met her future husband Dan Baldwin, one of the show's producers. In 2006, the show's title was changed toHolly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown in order to reflect the popularity of its co-presenters, Willoughby andStephen Mulhern.[10]
In 2005, Willoughby presentedFeel the Fear, a children's entertainment programme in which the presenters are set unnerving challenges. She has also had a number of minor appearances on other children's programmes. Willoughby presentedCD:UK for a short while in the spring of 2005, replacingCat Deeley beforeMyleene Klass,Lauren Laverne andJohny Pitts became the regular presenters. In recognition of work as a children's television presenter, Willoughby won aBAFTA Children's Award in 2006.[11]
In 2006, she was chosen to co-present, withPhillip Schofield, the television showDancing on Ice,[12] in which celebrities are partnered with professional dancers to learn ice-dancing routines which are judged by a panel of experts and voted on by audiences. Willoughby remained in the role until 2011 due to new commitments. She was replaced byChristine Lampard.[13][14]
Willoughby has presented a number of otherITV programmes, including spin-off shows such asCelebrity Wrestling: Bring It On in 2005,Greased Lightnin' in 2007, andThe Xtra Factor for two years in 2008 and 2009.
In 2007, she took over fromDavina McCall as the presenter ofStreetmate, a dating game show during its transition fromChannel 4 toITV2. Willoughby hosted the show for its final series. In the same year, Willoughby co-presentedHolly & Fearne Go Dating withFearne Cotton. The show saw the two hosts attempt to find dates for single people that they meet around the UK.
Since 2008, Willoughby appeared as a team captain onCelebrity Juice, presenting series 1–11 and 13–23 (taking a break in series 12 due to maternity leave).[15] She left the show after 12 years in May 2020.[16]
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Willoughby began co-presenting ITV'sThis Morning with Schofield in September 2009 until his departure in May 2023, replacingFern Britton.[17] Willoughby presented the programme from Monday to Thursday mornings until her departure in October 2023. She and Schofield had a close friendship, with Schofield describing her[when?] as "the sister he never had",[citation needed] and they presented the programme together from Monday to Thursday mornings until Schofield's departure in May 2023 and Willoughby's departure four months later in October 2023.
In 2011, Willoughby co-presented charity telethonText Santa withAnt & Dec. She returned to co-host the show with Schofield in 2012, 2013 and 2015.[18] On 24 March 2012, Willoughby began presentingThe Voice UK withReggie Yates. She decided to leave the show after the second series and was replaced byEmma Willis in 2014.[19] In 2012, Willoughby began hosting a revived version ofSurprise Surprise.[20] A second series began airing on 15 September 2013, a third on 22 October 2014 and a fourth on 21 June 2015. In 2015, Willoughby presented the sports-based panel showPlay to the Whistle onITV. The first series aired for seven episodes beginning on 11 April 2015. A second series aired for six episodes, beginning in April 2016[21] and a third series aired in 2017.[22]
In 2016, Willoughby presented primetime Saturday night dating showMeet the Parents forITV. The show has been compared toBlind Date.[23] In August 2018, it was announced that Willoughby would host the eighteenth series ofI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! alongsideDeclan Donnelly as his usual partnerAnthony McPartlin took a year-long break.[24]
Willoughby has written a series of children's books with her sister Kelly. Their debut bookSchool for Stars: First Term at L'Etoile became the UK's highest-selling children's book of 2013.[25]
In August 2017, it was reported Willoughby had received a £200,000 pay rise to match the salary of Schofield.[26] She returned to present the new series ofDancing on Ice with Schofield in January 2018.[27] Willoughby is a brand ambassador forMarks & Spencer andGarnier,[28][29] and a former ambassador forDiet Coke in the UK.[30][31] In September 2021, Willoughby founded a wellness and lifestyle brand and company called Wylde Moon.[32]
In 2018, Willoughby and Schofield made a cameo appearance onCoronation Street, when they interviewedRosie Webster,Craig Tinker andGemma Winter onThis Morning.[citation needed]
On 10 October 2023, Willoughby announced her departure fromThis Morning, after more than 14 years in the role.[33]
In 2025, Willoughby presented theNetflix reality competition seriesCelebrity Bear Hunt, starringBear Grylls.[34]
In December 2019, during the2019 general election, Willoughby and Schofield were criticised by some viewers for a "giggly" interview with then prime ministerBoris Johnson. The co-hosts' decision to take aselfie with Johnson was also criticised.[citation needed] Some viewers argued that the pair had been more critical when interviewingJeremy Corbyn, who faced repeated calls to apologise for accusations ofantisemitism in the Labour Party.[35]
On 5 September 2022,This Morning included a new prize of "energy bills" in their regular "spin to win" game. The prize equated to four months of payments, up to £400 each month. Schofield asked the first qualifying contestant if they were "worried" about energy bills and the contestant replied that "it's absolutely murder" having a prepayment meter.[36] Coverage fromSky News asked "Is Russia using Phillip Schofield for propaganda?" after the game was reported on Russian state television.[37]
Labour MPMary Kelly Foy tweeted criticism of the prize.[38] Ofcom received 170 complaints about the segment. Ofcom's broadcasting code states that: "We would strongly advise broadcasters not to present a monetary prize as a possible resolution of financial difficulty."[37] On 7 September 2022, the prize was removed without comment from ITV.[39]
Amid thedeath and state funeral of Elizabeth II on 17 September 2022, Willoughby and Schofield drew criticism on social media for not joiningthe queue for the lying-in-state of the queen with the public, when filming inWestminster Hall. ITV said that Schofield and Willoughby were escorted from thepress gallery by government staff and did not file past the Queen's coffin. Some social media users contrasted this with the actions of figures includingDavid Beckham andSusanna Reid, who queued for many hours with members of the general public.[40]
Willoughby said in response to Schofield's departure fromThis Morning: "It's been over 13 great years presentingThis Morning with Phil and I want to take this opportunity to thank him for all of his knowledge, his experience and his humour. The sofa won't feel the same without him." A broadcasting executive subsequently toldThe Times that Willoughby had given ITV an ultimatum that either she or Schofield had to leave the programme.[41] In a statement to theDaily Mail on 26 May, Schofield admitted that, before leaving his wife in 2020, he had carried on anextramarital affair with a younger male ITV co-worker.[42][43]
Willoughby, who had previously said she was hurt that Schofield had lied to her when she asked about the rumours,[44] returned toThis Morning on 5 June for the first time since his departure.[45] Stating that she felt "shaken, troubled and let down," she said that everyone at the programme had given "love and support to someone who was not telling the truth."[46] She expressed concern for Schofield's mental health, thanked viewers for their kindness and support, and said "what unites us all now is a desire to heal."[47]
Her sister, Kelly, also works in the television industry.[49]
On 4 August 2007, Willoughby married Daniel "Dan" Baldwin inAmberley, West Sussex, who is co-founder ofHungry Bear Media and a former producer onMinistry of Mayhem and later executive producer onCelebrity Juice.[50] They live inBarnes, London and have two sons and a daughter.[51] Their first child, a son, was born on 11 May 2009, their second, a daughter, was born on 14 April 2011, and their third, a son, was born on 29 September 2014.[52][53]
In 2008, Willoughby became a patron of the charityTogether for Short Lives.[54]
On 4 October 2023, Gavin Plumb, a 36-year-old man fromHarlow, was arrested forsolicitation andincitement over an alleged plot to abduct and murder Willoughby.[55] He was accused of contacting another man in the United States, who was in fact an undercover police officer, and asking him to come to the UK for the purpose of kidnapping and murdering Willoughby.[56] He is reported to have told the officer that he had "assembled a kidnap and restraint kit capable of encouraging or assisting the commission of the kidnap of Holly Willoughby".[56][57] Willoughby was made aware of the plot on 5 October and was taken into protective custody, withAlison Hammond filling in Willoughby's role onThis Morning.[58]
Plumb appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates Court on 6 October, where he was remanded into custody on charges of soliciting to commit murder and incitement to kidnap, rape, and murder.[59] The trial began in June 2024.[60] On 4 July 2024, Plumb was found guilty of soliciting murder, encouraging or assisting the commission of kidnap, and encouraging or assisting the commission of rape. Plumb had previously been imprisoned for attempted kidnap and false imprisonment.[61]At Chelmsford Crown Court on 12 July,Mr Justice Murray sentenced Plumb to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 16 years.[62]
Willoughby waived her right to anonymity, which is usually granted to alleged victims of sexual offences.[63] She did not attend any of the court proceedings. At Willoughby's request, hervictim impact statement was not released to the public, but was mentioned by the prosecution as showing "catastrophic" consequences.[64]
On 21 October 2025 theCourt of Appeal upheld Plumb's sentence.[65]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Keith Lemon: The Film | Herself | Cameo |
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