Holly Willoughby has spoken about the profound uncertainty she felt regarding her return to the public eye, stating there was a period when she was unsure if she would ever reclaim her spotlight. This reflection comes as she prepares to launch a new YouTube show, titled "Together."
Willoughby, 45, who previously hosted ITV's This Morning for 14 years, described the experience of the kidnap, rape, and murder plot as a significant reason for her extended break. "If I'm being really honest, everybody knows what happened to me and I just needed time out," she told The Sun. "I needed to go, 'Do you know, I need to park all of that. I'm just going to spend time with my family and my friends and see how I am and see what happens. And then when it feels right I'll go back'. But there was a time when I wasn't sure whether that would ever be a thing."
She expressed confidence in her current readiness to re-engage with her career, stating, "I feel good now, though. I wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t. This is a really good sign that I feel ready."
"Together," which Willoughby is self-funding, is set to debut on July 28. The show will feature twice-weekly broadcasts across five sections: Talk Together, Cook Together, Look Good Together, Better Together, and Hang Out Together. Willoughby is collaborating with a team from her husband Dan Baldwin's production company, Hungry Bear.
A friend of Willoughby's noted in January to The Mail on Sunday that after 25 years in television, she was keen to create her own project, suggesting a shift in the media landscape. "The television landscape has changed so much, people are consuming content on TikTok and other digital platforms," the friend said. "Holly has seen an opportunity now to start something new, which has a future, unlike the kind of stuff she has done in the past."
Willoughby's departure from This Morning followed the discovery of a plot to kidnap, rape, and murder her, for which former security guard Gavin Plumb received a life sentence in 2024. While she had returned to television for subsequent series of Dancing On Ice and Netflix's "Celebrity Bear Hunt," Willoughby indicated her future likely lies beyond traditional terrestrial broadcasting. She has reportedly declined other television hosting opportunities.
"She was offered the chance to host You Bet but she declined and there have been other opportunities too," a source explained. "She could have taken them and carried on where she left off when she had that awful time with Gavin Plumb. But Holly has an idea and she knows if she doesn't do it now, she will never know if it will work. Of course it is a risk, but she wanted a change. Not only will she be in front of a camera but she will be in charge behind it, too, and that is very exciting."
Regarding potential criticism, the friend added, "Of course there is a lot of misogyny towards Holly, there will always be those people who say she hasn't got a job at the moment or that she's finished - but they are just bitter, and are usually men."