Just When the Case Had Faded, the Man Behind It Found a Way Back — and the System Has to Listen
It wasn’t supposed to resurface. Not this year. Not this way. But the paperwork is in, the hearing is set, and the name that once froze headlines is back — not in breaking news, but in legal motion. No press conference. No statement. Just a quiet move with loud consequences. Because when someone convicted of planning the unthinkable asks for a second look, the question isn’t what he wants. It’s what the system will allow
An ‘obsessed’ security guard who was jailed over a plot to kidnap, rape and murder Holly Willoughby is set to have his appeal bid heard later this month.
Gavin Plumb was found guilty of soliciting murder and inciting rape and kidnap of the former This Morning presenter following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.
The 38-year-old from Harlow, in Essex, was sentenced at the same court in July to life in prison with a minimum term of 16 years.
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 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.
Earlier this year, court officials said they received applications for permission to appeal against his convictions and the sentence.
According to court listings, his case will now be heard at the Court of Appeal in London on October 21.
At his sentencing earlier this year, judge Mr Justice Murray described some of the plans Plumb had discussed online as ‘particularly sadistic, brutal and degrading’.
Gavin Plumb, 38, was found guilty of soliciting murder and inciting rape and kidnap of Holly Willoughby following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court
The 38-year-old from Harlow, in Essex, was sentenced at the same court in July to life in prison with a minimum term of 16 years. Pictured: Plumb being arrested by police at his flat in Harlow, Essex
Plumb planned to take Ms Willoughby to an isolated stud farm for sexual torture, kill her and dump her body in a lake
Plumb was snared after a US undercover police officer infiltrated an online group called Abduct Lovers and became so concerned about Plumb’s posts that evidence was passed to the FBI.
US law enforcement in turn contacted police in the UK, and when Essex Police officers raided Plumb’s flat in Harlow they found bottles of chloroform and an ‘abduction kit’ complete with cable ties.
Jurors heard Plumb’s kidnap plans involved attempting to ‘ambush’ Ms Willoughby, 44, at her family home – even discussing taking time off work in order to organise the attack.
Plumb was heard discussing the horrifying plot 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’ Ms Willoughby 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.
When Essex Police officers raided Plumb’s flat in Harlow they found bottles of chloroform and an ‘abduction kit’ complete with cable ties. Pictured: A ‘restraint kit’ that was found at Plumb’s home
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. Pictured: The messy flat where the recluse came up with the slickening plot
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’.
Plumb had argued in his defence that it was just online chat and fantasy.
But Mr Justice Murray dismissed this, saying: ‘I have no doubt that this was all considerably more than a fantasy to you.’
Following Plumb’s conviction, 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.’
Ms 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 presented a Netflix show, in which adventurer Bear Grylls hunts down celebrities in the jungle.