A security guard has been jailed for plotting to kidnap, rape and murder TV presenter Holly Willoughby.
Gavin Plumb, 37, was obsessed with then This Morning host Willoughby, 43, who left the ITV show after 14 years last October following his arrest.
Mr Justice Edward Murray told Plumb he had intended to carry out a “sadistic, brutal and degrading” attack on Willoughby and “harm her husband and children”.
He said Plumb hatched a plot so “horrifying, shocking and graphic” that many details of the plans were not shared in open court.
“You are dangerous,” he told him, as he sentenced Plumb to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 15 years and 85 days.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC told Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday Plumb’s actions had been “life-changing” for Willoughby – both for her career and personal life – but the presenter wished to keep her full statement about the impact of his crimes private.
But Ms Morgan added: “The extent of the shock and fear caused by this offending has been impossible to convey.”
Sentencing Plumb, Mr Justice Murray said he was satisfied his crimes had changed Willoughby’s life. He praised the TV presenter’s “considerable courage” displayed by waiving her right to anonymity in the case.
Mr Justice Edward Murray told Plumb he’s dangerous
The judge told Plumb: “Your plan was hopelessly unrealistic for a number of reasons – including your poor physical health – but you clearly thought it was feasible.
“Although you talked about carrying out the plan on your own, I am sure that this was simply bravado.
“You always intended to carry out your plan to kidnap, rape and kill Ms Willoughby, but only if you could find the right man or men – the right ‘crew’ as you sometimes called it – to help you do it.”
Turning to what Plumb said in his defence, the judge added: “Your claim in your evidence that you had bought chloroform to clean a stubborn stain on your living room carpet was a particularly clumsy and obvious lie.”
Plumb initially showed no reaction as he was jailed, but as he was led to the cells he made an exasperated gesture raising both his hands.
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Security guard’s darkening obsession with TV star
Willoughby hosts well-known shows like Dancing On Ice. Pic: PA
Deepfakes, home invasion plan and ‘kidnap kit’
At his trial, the court heard Plumb had been having graphic and highly sexualised conversations with others online about attacking Willoughby and other celebrities since December 2021.
In hundreds of messages shown to the jury, he shared deepfake porn images of Willoughby, pictures of her home and talked about booking time off work to carry out his plot.
Plumb’s kidnap plans involved attempting to “ambush” Willoughby at her family home – then taking the presenter to another location, which he suggested would be a “dungeon”-type room.
His plans were foiled after a US undercover police officer infiltrated an online group called Abduct Lovers and became concerned about Plumb’s posts.
Gavin Plumb during his arrest. Pic: Essex Police
Plumb told the officer, who was using the pseudonym David Nelson, that he was “definitely serious” about his plot to kidnap Ms Willoughby.
The officer told jurors he believed Plumb posed an “imminent threat” to the presenter after meeting him on the Kik Messenger group.
Plumb said in messages he planned to target Willoughby in a “home invasion”, using chloroform to subdue her and her husband, the TV producer Dan Baldwin, before tying them up, kidnapping her and repeatedly raping her.
He shared a video of his “kidnap kit” with the officer – who had gained his trust – and said he would slit Willoughby’s throat before disposing of her body in a lake.
Items in Plumb’s ‘kidnap kit’. Pic: CPS
The officer, who told Plumb he would travel from New York to help him carry out the plan, alerted the FBI and police in the UK.
When Essex Police officers raided Plumb’s flat in Harlow, Essex, they found bottles of chloroform and an “abduction kit” complete with cable ties.
In footage of the arrest, filmed on an officer’s body-worn camera, a topless Plumb, when told he was being held over a plot to kidnap Willoughby, said: “I’m not gonna lie. She is a fantasy of mine.”
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Holly Willoughby plot suspect arrested
‘Embarrassed and ashamed’
Plumb wept after jurors last week unanimously convicted him of soliciting murder and inciting rape and kidnap.
In her opening to the jury, prosecutor Ms Morgan told the court about Plumb’s previous convictions for false imprisonment and attempted kidnap, saying they showed he “knew what it would take to terrify and overpower a woman”.
The offences involved the threat of sexual violence against four different young women.
Plumb had argued in his defence that his plans for Willoughby were just online chat and fantasy.
Sasha Wass KC, mitigating for Plumb before his sentencing, argued he was “devastated to be the cause of such pain to her”. She said he “worshipped and was obsessed by Ms Willoughby for a period of years, admittedly in a warped and bizarre manner”.
His lawyer added Plumb “remains embarrassed and ashamed”, and he “always expected” the online conversations that formed the focus of the trial “would remain private”.
Plumb in police custody. Pic: Essex Police
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Willoughby’s reaction to ‘predator’ conviction
Willoughby issued a statement following the conclusion of the trial, saying women “should not be made to feel unsafe going about our daily lives and in our own homes”.
She thanked the undercover police officer and the Metropolitan and Essex police forces for their swift response – and all those involved in the 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,” Willoughby said.
Holly Willoughby spoke out to protect other women. Pic: PA
DCI Greg Wood, of Essex Police, described Plumb as a “calculating sexual predator” following the sentencing.
“He tried to claim throughout the trial that he was an obsessive fan and a fantasist – that is simply not true,” he said.
“He planned this attack on Ms Willoughby over a two-year period, scoping her movements, seeking help from others and buying items to incapacitate and inflict violence.”
He said the case has brought misogyny and violence against women and girls to the fore.
It cannot be right that men like Plumb are able to join online forums where they “freely vent their hatred” against women and girls and “plot to cause them harm”, he added.