Holly Willoughby has reportedly reconnected with her former co-star after the two friends drifted apart for a while.
The 43-year-old went through a difficult year after being the target of a plot to kidnap, rape and kill her. Over the summer, security guard Gavin Plumb was with a minimum term of 16 years at Chelmsford Crown Court for hatching the plot.
Following the terrifying ordeal, Holly was out of the spotlight for about 12 months, but she has now agreed to host a new reality competition show - Bear Hunt - after signing a deal worth close to seven figures. She will also return to front alongside her pal Stephen Mulhern.
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A source said that leaving "opened up new opportunities" for Holly, who has also been carefully considering who she trusts in her inner circle and has rekindled former friendships. According to , apart from relying heavily in her sister Kelly for support, Holly recently reconnected with 43-year-old Fearne, after the pair drifted apart when they stopped filming Celebrity Juice together in 2018.
The two friends met when they were teens and appeared on the show as team captains. But over time, they became less close as they took different paths and "failed to check in on each other", it has been claimed.
However, both TV stars have now gone "down the same path" of living holistically and focusing on self-care, which means they have now reconnected, according to the newspaper. A source said: "Fearne started living holistically, concentrating on self-care while Holly was still on TV.
"But then Holly went down the same path and started meditating and appreciating and researching holistic therapies. When she set up her wellness brand, Wylde Moon, she and Fearne were back on the same page again."
It comes just months after Holly said Plumb's conviction in July that women "should not be made to feel unsafe ... in our own homes." Plumb, 37, was snared after a US undercover police officer infiltrated an online group called Abduct Lovers and became so concerned about Plumb's posts that evidence was passed to the FBI.
US law enforcement in turn contacted police in the UK, and when officers raided Plumb's flat in Harlow they found bottles of chloroform and an "abduction kit" complete with cable ties. Plumb wept after jurors unanimously convicted him of soliciting murder and inciting rape and kidnap following an earlier trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said Ms Willoughby asked for her victim personal statement to be private. She continued: "What I can say… it is abundantly clear that in making that statement the prosecution submits the impact of this offending has been life-changing for the victim of these offences – both in private and personal terms – private, personal and indeed professional. It is clear, the prosecution submit… that the extent of the shock and fear caused by this offending has been impossible to convey."
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