Gavin Plumb, who amassed thousands of images of Willoughby, had planned how to abduct her from her home
A convicted violent offender has been found guilty of plotting to kidnap, rape and murder Holly Willoughby.
Gavin Plumb, 37, was obsessed with the television host, amassing more than 10,000 images of her on his phone including deepfake pornography. He was caught after unwittingly communicating online with an undercover police officer based in the US, who flagged him to UK authorities.
The jury heard Plumb had previous convictions for attempted kidnap and false imprisonment. In 2006 he tried to force two female cabin crew members off a train with a fake gun and threatening note and in 2008 he attempted to tie up two teenage girls in a Woolworths stock room.
Chelmsford crown court heard the security guard carefully planned how to abduct Willoughby from her home, take her to his residence in Harlow, Essex, and murder her in an abandoned building.
Plumb, who admitted he spent “99.9%” of his time on the internet, had denied the allegations and insisted the plot was “fantasy” and nothing more than “online chat” that he told the court was “massively regrettable”.
But on Thursday, a jury found him guilty of three charges: soliciting murder, encouraging or assisting the commission of kidnap, and encouraging or assisting the commission of rape.
Plumb slowly shook his head and looked down at the floor as the jury foreman read out the verdicts. The judge, Mr Justice Murray, told Plumb he would be sentenced on 12 July and remanded him in custody.
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.
