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A security guard from Essex who kept thousands of images of Holly Willoughby has been convicted of planning her kidnap, rape, and murder.

Gavin Plumb, 37, spent two-and-a-half years researching the TV presenter’s personal life and assembling a ‘kidnap kit’ which included handcuffs, 400 metal cable ties, leg shackles, a pocketknife, and bottles of chloroform. He also searched for imitation firearms online.

Plumb – who has a string of previous convictions relating to kidnapping and false imprisonment – sought to recruit others he met online to carry out his brutal attack. He planned to drive to the victim’s home at night, break into the property, and incapacitate the presenter with chloroform.  Plumb’s vile plot then involved taking Holly Willoughby to another location where she would be imprisoned and raped before being murdered.

Nicola Rice, a specialist prosecutor in the Crown Prosecution Service, said:

“Gavin Plumb is a dangerous man who plotted unspeakable violence against one of the nation’s most familiar faces. 

“Despite his attempts to pass himself off as a harmless fantasist, the prosecution persuaded the jury that Plumb posed a very real threat. 

“The chilling details of his plans were laid bare with the help of an undercover officer from the US who alerted the FBI to the threat, and the seriousness of Plumb’s scheme was exposed when the prosecution successfully applied to tell the jury about Plumb’s previous convictions. 

“I hope his conviction brings some comfort to Holly Willoughby and her family, and shows others that the Crown Prosecution Service will always seek the strongest possible charges against those who plot violence against women.” 

Plumb’s plans were exposed when he unwittingly shared his scheme in a private chat with a man he hoped would join him – but who turned out to be an undercover police officer based in the US. Plumb even told him of his previous convictions for attempted kidnap and holding girls against their will to bolster his own credibility. The officer, who gave evidence in court via video link under the alias ‘David Nelson’, became concerned at Plumb’s level of planning and alerted the FBI. Soon afterwards Essex Police arrested Plumb at home in Harlow on 4 October.

The officer was able to give evidence under his alias, after the CPS applied for his anonymity to be protected. Only the judge and jury were able to see his face on the live videolink from the US.

Plumb has remained in custody since his arrest and will be sentenced on Friday 12 July.

Fantasist or real-life threat?

Gavin Plumb repeatedly told the court that the messages outlining his plans and his violent and degrading views about the victim were “just chat” and nothing more. 

The key to the CPS case was proving to the jury that he intended to encourage others to assist him in carrying out the attack. The jury was asked to consider why, if it was only online chatter, Plumb needed to buy a ‘kidnap kit’ and carry out detailed searches on where he thought the victim lived. When asked by the prosecution why he had bought chloroform, Plumb told the jury at Chelmsford Crown Court that he needed it to remove a stubborn stain on his carpet.

The prosecution also successfully applied to the court before the trial for permission to tell the jury about his previous convictions. There were two separate incidents in 2006 where he unsuccessfully tried to kidnap two women on a train, using an imitation firearm in one instance, for which he received a suspended prison sentence. 

In 2008 he held two 16-year-old girls he worked with against their will. He tied the hands of one girl behind her back using tape after his rope got tangled. The other girl ran off to raise the alarm and he was arrested by police and eventually sentenced to 32 months in prison. These previous convictions showed the jury that Plumb had committed crimes which were aimed at controlling and terrifying women.