A shopping centre security officer is to stand trial accused of a plot to kidnap and murder TV presenter Holly Willoughby.
Gavin Plumb is charged with soliciting a man – David Nelson – to commit murder, and incitement to commit kidnap.
The 37-year-old is accused of planning to assemble a “kidnap and restraint kit” and encouraging a third party to travel to the UK to carry out the alleged offences.
He is alleged to have conspired online with another man, who was to travel to the UK from the US, and created a “detailed plan” to carry out the offences.
Plumb, of Harlow, Essex, denied all charges at an earlier hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court.
He is due to stand trial at the same court from Monday, with the hearing estimated to last about two weeks.
Ms Willoughby, 43, announced in October last year that she was stepping down from This Morning after 14 years on the ITV show.
She said in a social media post at the time that she felt: “I have to make this decision for me and my family.”
The presenter has since hosted Dancing on Ice 2024, and is to present a Netflix show – to be released next year – in which adventurer Bear Grylls hunts down celebrities in the jungle.
