With a plunging black frock and beaming smile, Holly Willoughby’s presence on the red carpet last week had all the hallmarks of a confident showbiz comeback.
Supported by her friend, All Saints singer Nicole Appleton, the former darling of ITV’s This Morning betrayed no hint of nerves as they attended the premiere of Robbie Williams’ biopic Better Man, in London’s West End.
And that, in itself, is a remarkable turnaround. This time last year, Holly, 43, was too afraid to leave her home, after police had foiled a kidnap plot by deranged fan Gavin Plumb, who planned to rape and murder her.
She had quit the This Morning job she loved and would see friends only if they visited her. She was, I’m told, ‘utterly terrified and bereft’.
Those closest to Holly were ‘deeply worried’ for her. During those darkest of days she feared she might never work again.
Only when Plumb was sentenced to life in prison in July did she start to feel a little safer.
Holly on You Bet! with Alison Hammond, Harry Redknapp and, circled, Rosie Ramsey
Holly, 43, on the red carpet last week as she attended the premiere of Robbie Williams’ biopic Better Man, in London’s West End
And today, as her rehabilitation back into public life begins in earnest, things are lighter still. The broad smiles are back, pals insist. And, as one put it, she is ‘back to her old ways and loving life’.
Indeed, her red-carpet outing is just the start of a new phase in Holly’s life. Rather than losing her career, her reputation as one of British television’s most sought-after female presenters has never been stronger.
This Saturday will see her return to our screens for the first time since she fronted ITV’s Dancing On Ice in January – appearing alongside her new ‘work husband’, Stephen Mulhern, to host a reboot of 1980s gameshow You Bet!
It was once a stalwart of weekend television – when it was presented by the late Bruce Forsyth, and then Matthew Kelly – and ITV bosses hope that the two episodes of the new show, which are already in the bag, will not be the last.
They would ‘absolutely love more’, sources say, and if the show is a success, it could make Holly the new queen of Saturday night.
That is something television bosses, and even Holly herself, are said to have wanted for some time. For the move to You Bet! is a strategic one: not only will it allow the star to shed her daytime television image, it will also sever any remaining ties to Phillip Schofield.
Holly returned to our screens for the first time last night as she appeared alongside her new ‘work husband’ Stephen Mulhern to host a reboot of 1980s gameshow You Bet!
The pair, once close, will ‘never speak again’ after the scandal that engulfed Schofield and led to him quit ITV. Holly is said to have been devastated that her former co-host first lied about the severity of the paedophilia allegations against his brother, Tim, and was then dishonest about his relationship with a much younger colleague.
‘Holly was so closely affiliated to This Morning for much of her adult life. She lived daytime television and she loved it,’ a friend of hers tells me.
‘It came to a terribly sad ending, but as every door closes a new one opens and now Holly is in exactly the right place to present big Saturday night programmes.’
Insiders say she is the answer to ITV bosses’ prayers when it comes to reviving prime-time TV. ‘There isn’t really another This Morning for Holly – daytime television like that is surely now a thing of the past for her,’ an insider said. But ITV has been crying out for a female presenter for big Saturday night shows for ages now.
‘And it looks like they have found their woman.’
Nor is her star power confined to ITV, for she will also appear as a presenter on a reality series for Netflix. Bear Hunt sees a group of celebrities ‘hunted’ through the Costa Rican jungle. She spent a month filming in the region with co-host Bear Grylls while her husband, television producer Dan Baldwin, and their three children – 15, 13 and ten – stayed at home.
It ‘did wonders’ for Holly’s confidence, sources say. ‘Bear Hunt took Holly out of her comfort zone,’ one friend said.
‘Apart from when she hosted I’m A Celebrity in 2018, Holly had never done anything like this before, but even then she was with ITV and her friend Declan Donnelly. This was all new and surely it helped her confidence and made her see what is out there.’
Another key to Holly’s return has been her long-term sidekick Mulhern, with whom she will reunite in January for another turn co-presenting Dancing On Ice.
They have worked together for 20 years, since they hosted the children’s Saturday morning show Ministry Of Mayhem in 2004.
They so impressed ITV bosses with their double act on Dancing On Ice this year that they became the obvious pick for You Bet!
For Holly, too, it’s been ‘lovely’ working with her old friend. ‘Stephen just gets on with it,’ an ITV source said. ‘There is no drama, no messing around, no games, no ego. Basically, he is the antidote to Phil and that is exactly what Holly needed.
‘A fresh start with an old friend was the perfect cocktail. Holly goes to work and has fun now and it’s lovely to see.’
Holly is likely to be a great support for Mulhern, too. He was reported to have collapsed last week after the death of his father.
Given the year she’s had, Holly knows all about trauma. I’m told she struggled to take her eyes off her children for some time after learning of the kidnap plot. She and Dan had always wanted their children to have a normal upbringing and, for a time, that wasn’t possible – until now.
‘Life is back to how it used to be now,’ said one friend. ‘Kids, work, school, juggling.’
Holly hinted at this new return to normality on Friday when she posted a picture on Instagram of herself and mother Linda taking a stroll in the woods with her beloved dog Bailey.
Both wore matching Katharine Hamnett puffer jackets, featuring the word ‘love’ on the back.
Like her appearance on the red carpet this week, it may have looked carefree. But it’s unlikely to be something Holly takes for granted ever again.
