Exclusive: Holly Willoughby taking life 'day at a time' after sick murder plot and Phillip Schofield scandal

Holly Willoughby has spoken about moving on from a troubled year to be more ‘fearless’ after being inspired by Bear Grylls on new Netflix show

After more than a year of turmoil, Holly Willoughby is facing the future full of fearless energy and with a smile on her face.

The presenter of new Netflix series Celebrity Bear Hunt, 43, is keeping mum about her next adventure but credits old pal Bear Grylls with helped her cope with the foiled kidnap plot that left her and her family reeling.

When I ask her what’s next, and if she will do more shows with Netflix I notice a familiar glint in her eye which suggests she has a plan ahead. “All I’ve learned out of life is you never know what’s around the corner,” she says with a grin. “So I’m like, one day at a time, one step at a time, just like in the jungle.”

Holly and Bear are discussing their new series, in which 12 celebrities live in the jungle learning survival skills, being tracked down by Bear and eliminated if they are not up to scratch. Holly says she “learned a load” from old pal Bear, revealing: “I just assumed that here was this man that had no fear.

“And actually he does have fear, but he doesn’t let that fear hold him back. And I thought, God, that’s brilliant. It really is something I want to try, and even if I can do it a tiny bit, then I think that will help.”

Holly returns to TV screens with different co-star (
Image:
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
Holly is on solo hosting duties and it is the first time she is doing promo for a TV project since she left This Morning after security guard Gavin Plumb was jailed for masterminding a plot to kidnap, rape and murder her.

Before that, there was turmoil when her co-host Phillip Schofield quit This Morning after lying about an “unwise” affair with a younger colleague. Phillip and Holly are no longer on speaking terms. Asked if this show, made away from ITV, represents a fresh start, Holly thinks for a moment before saying: “I think when you do anything new, it feels like that.

“And it’s nice to try new things and go to new places. I’ve never been to Central America before, so this just felt like the right thing to do at the right time. Sometimes it’s nice to be out of your comfort zone. And when Bear calls me and said, ‘you want to go on an adventure?’ I was like, yes, 100%.

Holly with Bear and the Celebrity Bear Hunt cast at the Netflix Premiere in London on Tuesday night (
Image:
PA)
“My kids are that little bit older now, so it felt like the right time that I could do it, you know, the wheels weren’t going to fall off my life if I left home.” Holly, 43, left children Harry, 15, Belle, 13, and 10-year-old Chester and TV producer husband Dan Baldwin for three weeks of filming in Costa Rica.

And although hosting alone was unusual in her career, Holly did not find that an extra problem. “I know what you mean, normally there’s somebody alongside me. But actually, what’s been quite nice, obviously, Bear’s with me for a fair bit of it. And if Bear’s not there, then I’m either with the celebrities or I’m with them.

Holly reveals Bear does have fear
“So for me, like when you’re on telly, even if you’re on your own, it’s always about connections. You’re either connecting through the camera with the person that’s watching, or you’re connecting with the person you’re interviewing, so it doesn’t actually feel like a lonely place ever. I don’t think.”

The celebrities on the show include Spice Girl Mel B, former tennis ace Boris Becker, TV presenter Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, models Lottie Moss and Leomie Anderson, and Strictly judge Shirley Ballas. Journalist Steph McGovern, Ted Lasso star Kola Bokinni, TV chef Big Zuu, Inbetweeners actor Joe Thomas, former Saturdays singer Una Healy and ex-rugby player Danny Cipriani complete the 12.

Holly is taking life one step at a time (
Image:
Netflix)
They take on a variety of survival tasks and some fare better than others. Bear admits he hoped Boris would triumph over adversity but “the jungle took its toll” while Lottie surprised everyone by “letting out her warrior spirit”. Having also fronted I’m a Celebrity for one year too, I wonder how Holly would fare if she took part?

“I would be utterly useless,” she says. “I mean, that’s why I honestly, if the call came through, I would sit in the corner and cry. I just, I wouldn’t have said yes to this, like if I’d been asked to take part. “I just wouldn’t, because I’d have been, I’d have been too scared, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.

Mel B is among the stars of the new show (
Image:
Netflix/Youtube)
“But that’s why I’m so in awe of our 12 celebs taking part, because I just think, God, well done you.” Perhaps knowing how well Holly has come through adversity in the last year, Bear disagrees. Turning to Holly, he says: “She’s always deflecting, saying how great [the celebs] are, and they were all great, but you come off a sort of a career of pressure. Live TV is pressure.