Gavin Plumb was once thought as an unassuming father of two. But, his descent into ‘sick’ and ‘twisted’ fantasies saw him target TV star Holly Willoughby and pay the price.
The Essex-born man, 37, was once met by sympathy from some after his weight ballooned to 35st, making him unable to leave the house – and even featured in a 2018 BBC news feature about it.
However, the pity has worn off since he’s been convicted of soliciting the murder and incitement to kidnap and rape the former This Morning presenter.
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From a dad once earning a honest living flipping burgers at McDonald’s to being housebound by his weight and now behind heinous crimes – we take a look inside Plumb’s ‘twisted’ life.
Who is Gavin Plumb?
Born in Harlow, Essex, Plumb worked as a security guard at the Pinnacles Shopping Centre before being arrested and charged in October 2023.
Before that, he was employed by Woolworths, Pizza Hut, KFC and McDonald’s – though he had to quit his job at the pizza chain after health concerns got in the way. He is said to have struggled with his weight since he was 13.
He historically struggled with female relationships and claimed to have been in a ‘toxic’ relationship when he was 18 and found himself “regularly in the friend zone.”
Plumb revealed to the BBC in 2018 that he had to sack off work as he became obese and struggled to even get out the door. The dad admitted that he would only leave to take out rubbish, but was left living in the ‘same four walls’.
Fed up of how his weight was affecting his life, Plumb sought out bariatric surgery and documented his journey for the BBC. Admittedly, Plumb used to down 18L of cola (36 pints) over a week and a half.
After his operation, the dad had aspirations of getting back into football and wanted to join a team once he received the ‘all clear’ post-surgery.
Speaking of his future at the time, Plumb told the BBC: “My main aim is to get back into work and I’ve already started looking. I know I’ve got to slow down but it’s difficult not to try to do everything at once.
(Image: PA)
“I’m looking to get back into football as well and I’ve found an area near me that has a team. Once I get the all clear, that’s where I’ll be going.”
However, Plumb who was concealing a murky past and would go on to lead a “dark” and “twisted fantasy” that threatened to put Holly Willoughby in “imminent” danger.
The ‘darkness’ within Plumb
Despite Plumb’s desire to get his life back on track, he was already hiding a disturbing past.
Back in 2006, Plumb attempted to kidnap two air hostesses off a train and in 2008 he falsely imprisoned two 16-year-old colleagues at knife-point while working at Woolworths.
(Image: Essex Police Handout)
Chelmsford Crown Court heard he had a “stewardess fantasy” and Plumb claimed he was fuelled by committing such acts to be “incarcerated” to “get out” of his supposed toxic relationship at the time.
Fast forward to 2023 and the dad was arrested and charged in October after unknowingly sharing his Holly Willoughby plot to an undercover policeman in the US.
The covert cop, only known as Marc, discovered a post from Plumb on the website Abduct Lovers and grew ‘concerned’ that there was an “imminent threat” to the ITV star.
In a voice message, Plumb disclosed his sexually deprived “ultimate fantasy” to Marc, and shared: “I’m now at the point that fantasy isn’t enough anymore. I want the real thing.”
During the trial, the American cop – who used the alias David Nelson – shared that they were concerned that Plumb “must be approaching” the TV star after seeing the post.
He passed the information on to the FBI who then liaised with the Met Police.
(Image: PA)
Plumb accepts that his “massively regrettable” messages about Holly were “dark” and would frequently think about the TV star multiple times a day.
Plumb had sent the undercover police officer a photo of the “abduction kit” – which was mostly made up of bondage sex equipment.
He also is alleged to have sent photos of bottles of chloroform and to have carried ropes around with him. Speaking to the court, the undercover officer said he showed Plumb a flight confirmation “to show him that I was willing to accomplice him in this act.”
The cop said Plumb sent him a screenshot of a Google map detailing the route from Plumb’s address to Willoughby’s and said that Plumb told him he has a “load of info” on her – like “when she does and doesn’t have security.”
In a voice note sent from Plumb to Marc in 2023, Plumb chillingly shared: “We’re then gonna force her to make a video saying she came with us under her own free will… and she’s fully consenting to everything we do to her – so that covers us.”
Looking at Plumb’s history of previous convictions, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said that he has a “tendency” to ‘subdue’ and ‘terrify’ real-life women.
Plumb is set to be sentenced on Friday, July 12