On Tuesday, television presenter Holly Willoughby, one of Britain’s most high-profile broadcasters, quit as co-host of ITV’s (ITV.L) popular daytime program ‘This Morning,’ saying she was “stepping down” to prioritize her family. In a post on Instagram, Willoughby said she had informed ITV bosses she would not be returning to the show she had helped host for 14 years. She cited the need to spend more time with her husband and three children, Harry, 14, Belle, 12, and Chester.
The announcement comes days after 36-year-old shopping center security guard Gavin Plumb was arrested over an alleged plot to kidnap and kill Willoughby. He will appear in court on November 3 at Chelmsford Crown Court, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) outside London.
Plumb was arrested after investigators traced messages threatening to kidnap Willoughby and “seriously harm” her. Essex Police later said a protective guard was being placed around the home of the 42-year-old, who lives with her husband and their children in a suburban London suburb.
Willoughby’s departure is the latest blow for the ITV program, shaken by the scandal surrounding her former co-host Phillip Schofield’s confession that he had an unwise but not illegal relationship with a younger male colleague. He resigned from the show in May and was replaced by Alison Hammond.
ITV’s managing director of media and entertainment, Kevin Lygo, said he was sad to see Willoughby leave the show but added she had made an ‘outstanding contribution’ over the years. He said the network hoped she would return to the program.
Willoughby, who also co-hosts ITV’s celebrity competition Dancing on Ice, was a presenter on children’s TV shows before joining This Morning in 2009. She was also a regular on the spinoff program Ministry of Mayhem.
She is also well-known in the US, where she hosted the game show The Price Is Right for a decade and co-presented the American version of Dancing with the Stars in 2012.
A string of top ratings has marked her career. She won best daytime presenter at the National Television Awards on seven occasions and won the same award again last year. In addition, she has presented spinoff shows such as Celebrity Wrestling: Bring It On and Greased Lightnin’. She has a reputation for being warm and friendly and has built up an enormous social media following. In 2015, she was named the Most Popular TV Personality in a British-based poll. The survey asked voters to rate their favorite TV personalities in various categories, including charisma, good looks, and how nice they were. YouGov conducted the poll between June 16 and 22. It had a sample size of 5,500 people aged 15 and over in the UK.
