An “obsessed” security guard plotted to break into Holly Willoughby’s family home and knock her out with chloroform so he could kidnap, rape and murder her, a court has heard.
Gavin Plumb, 37, allegedly hatched the “graphic” and “sexually motivated” plans over more than two years as he tried to recruit accomplices online.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard he boasted of trying to abduct two air hostesses from trains and falsely imprisoning two 16-year-old girls to “bolster his credibility”.
Killing Willoughby was suspect’s ‘ultimate fantasy’, court told | Trial as it happened
Prosecutors allege his past convictions – which included tying a teenager’s hands behind her back with rope and tape, and using an imitation firearm – showed he knew “what it would take to terrify and overpower a woman”.
But Plumb, from Harlow, in Essex, unwittingly disclosed his plans to an undercover US police officer, who alerted the authorities in the UK and disrupted his plans to carry out “catastrophic violence” against Willoughby, the court heard.
A jury was told he had more than 10,000 images of the former This Morning host on his mobile phone when he was arrested in October last year, while officers found two sealed bottles of chloroform, along with a “kidnap kit”.
Police also found “a list of celebrities” in his bedside drawer, along with folded-up images of famous people, including Willoughby, on top of his wardrobe.
Gavin Plumb appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court. Pic: PA/Elizabeth Cook
Plumb, who appeared in the dock wearing a light grey sweater and dark tracksuit bottoms, denies charges of soliciting murder, incitement to kidnap and incitement to rape between December 2021 and October last year.
Willoughby, who is not attending the trial, has waived her automatic right to anonymity, which all alleged victims of sexual offences or related charges are entitled to.
The 43-year-old announced in October last year that she was stepping down from This Morning after 14 years on the ITV show, but has since hosted Dancing On Ice 2024, and is to present a Netflix show.
Holly Willoughby is not attending the trial. Pic: PA
Jurors were told she has never met Plumb, who had been planning an attack on her for “some time”, talking with an online contact, Marc, who is believed to have been based in Ireland, about launching a “home invasion” as far back as 2021.
They shared “deep fake” pornographic images of Willoughby as well as images of her home, the court heard.
Plumb later discussed trying to get on to a tour of the ITV studios to get close to her or using his training as a security guard to get a job protecting her, prosecutors said.
Plumb also shared a picture of an empty space or “dungeon” that he said was “big enough for a bed”, while Marc said her “screams could not be heard for miles”, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said.
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“It was not just the ramblings of a fantasist,” she said. “The defendant had carefully planned what he would do and how he would do it, purchasing items that would assist him in carrying out the attack.”
But when his plans did not move forward in the way he had hoped, he began unwittingly talking to a US undercover police officer referred to as David Nelson in October last year, the court heard.
The officer, from the Owatonna Police Department, in Minnesota, was monitoring an online group called “Abduct lovers” involving chats about kidnap, torture and murder.
Calling himself “BigBear”, Plumb posted pictures of Willoughby and said he had a “load of info” on her, including when she has security and “what time she gets up in the morning”, the court heard.
When asked if he was serious, Plumb shared a video, which was played in court, showing items laid out on his bed including hand and ankle shackles, a ball gag, rope, metal cable ties, and two sets of handcuffs.
In other messages, he described the plan to use chloroform on her and her husband, the television producer Dan Baldwin, before tying her up and kidnapping Willoughby.
When asked what will happen at the end, Plumb said: “Slit her throat, clear her out and dispose of it,” the jury was told.
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The undercover officer alerted the FBI and UK police, who arrested Plumb over an alleged conspiracy to kidnap Willoughby.
Officers said he was “shocked” but said: “I’m not gonna lie. She is a fantasy of mine.”
Ms Morgan said it is likely Plumb may suggest “this is all just a fantasy” during his trial, but she asked jurors if the messages he exchanged with others are the “talk of a fantasist” or if the “dark depravity” suggests he meant what he said.
The trial, which is expected to last for two weeks, continues.
Despite The Who’s Quadrophenia being set over 60 years ago, Pete Townshend’s themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
The album is having a renaissance as Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia A Mod ballet is being brought to life via dance at Sadler’s Wells East, and Sky News has an exclusive first look.
As Townshend puts it, the album he wrote is “perfect” for the stage.
Pete Townshend
“My wife Rachel did the orchestration for me, and as soon as I heard it I said to her it would make a fabulous ballet and we never really let that go,” he tells Sky News.
“Heavy percussion, concussive sequences. They’re explosive moments. They’re also romantic movement moments.”
If you identify with the demographics of Millennial, Gen Y or Gen Z, you might not be familiar with The Who and Mod culture.
But in post-war Britain the Mods were a cultural phenomenon characterised by fashion, music, and of course, scooters. The young rebels were seen as a counter-culture to the establishment and The Who, with Roger Daltry’s lead vocals and Pete Townshend’s writing, were the soundtrack.
Quadrophenia the album is widely regarded as an essay on the British adolescent experience at the time, focusing on the life of fictional protagonist Jimmy – a young Mod struggling with his sanity, self-doubt, and alienation.
Townshend sets the rock opera in 1965 but thinks its themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
He says: “The phobias and the restrictions and the unwritten laws about how young men should behave. The ground that they broke, that we broke because I was a part of it.
“Men were letting go of [the] wartime-related, uniform-related stance that if I wear this kind of outfit it makes me look like a man.”
Paris Fitzpatrick and Pete Townshend. Pic: Johan Persson
This struggle of modern masculinity and identity appears to be echoing today as manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate, incel culture, and Netflix’s Adolescence make headlines.
For dancer Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy, the story resonates.
Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy in the ballet
“I think there’s a connection massively and I think there may even be a little more revival in some way,” he tells Sky News.
“I love that myself. I love non-conforming to gender norms and typical masculinity; I think it’s great to challenge things.”
Despite the album being written before he was born, the dancer says he was familiar with the genre already.
“I actually did an art GCSE project about Mods and rockers and Quadrophenia,” he says.
“I think we’ll be able to bring it to new audiences and hopefully, maybe people will be inspired to to learn more about their music and the whole cultural movement of the early 60s.”
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In 1979, the album was adapted into a film directed by Franc Roddam starring Ray Winstone and Sting but Townshend admits because the film missed key points he is “not a big fan”.
“What it turned out to be in the movie was a story about culture, about social scenario and less about really the specifics of mental illness and how that affects young people,” he adds, also complimenting Roddam’s writing for the film.
Perhaps a testament to Pete Townshend’s creativity, Quadrophenia started as an album, was successfully adapted to film and now it will hit the stage as a contemporary ballet.
It appears that over six decades later Mod culture is still cool and their issues still relatable.
Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet will tour to Plymouth Theatre Royal from 28 May to 1 June 2025, Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 10 to 14 June 2025 and the Mayflower, Southampton from 18 to 21 June 2025 before having its official opening at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London on 24 June running to 13 July 2025 and then visiting The Lowry, Salford from 15 to 19 July 2025.
Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.
The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.
The charges relate to four women.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.
Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.
He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.
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Ashna Hurynag discusses Russell Brand’s charges
The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.
Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.
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The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.
He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.
“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”
Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.
Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.
Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.
Tom Cruise said ‘I wish you well on the next journey’. Pic: AP
Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP
His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.
“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.
“I wish you well on the next journey.”
The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.
Tom Cruise at Caesars Palace on Thursday. Pic: AP
Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.
He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.
Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.
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He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.
In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.
The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.
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