A shopping centre security guard, obsessed with UK TV presenter Holly Willoughby, wanted to kidnap her and take her to a “dungeon” where her “screams can’t be heard”, a court was told.
Gavin Plumb, 37, is currently on trial for his alleged plan to kidnap, rape, and solicit the murder of the former presenter of ITV’s This Morning. He has denied all charges.
According to The Guardian, Plumb had amassed more than 10,000 images of Willoughby on his phone, which included deepfake pornography.
The Chelmsford Crown Court heard that it was his “ultimate fantasy” to kidnap the presenter, and that “fantasy wasn’t enough anymore, I want the real thing”.
When he was arrested and accused of conspiracy to abduct Willoughby, Plumb reportedly replied: “I’m not gonna lie. She is a fantasy of mine”.
The court was told Plumb had divulged the details of his plans in online discussions, describing how Willoughby would be killed and then “disposed” of.
The prosecution alleged that Plumb had said he would “pick out outfits” for the presenter and talked about using chloroform to abduct her.
"We're then going to force her to make a video that she came with us under her own free will... so that covers us," one alleged message said.
Jurors were told he planned to take her to a “dungeon” where her screams “can’t be heard".
According to The Sun, Plumb had already been convicted twice for crimes related to kidnapping and abduction.
In 2006, Plumb approached a woman on a train with a threatening note. Two days later, he used a similar tactic, this time with a fake gun, but the victim refused to get off the train, and he was arrested.
In 2008, Plumb forced two 16-year-old girls into a supermarket stock room, where he bound one of the girls' hands before the other escaped and raised the alarm.
Prosecutors said the prior convictions showed Plumb "knew what it would take to terrify and overpower a woman".
He also allegedly hatched his plans with an undercover US police officer who was monitoring Plumb’s online activity.
"I know when she does and doesn't have security and that she doesn't have CCTV at home, what time she gets up in the morning."
Willoughby hosted This Morning for 14 years before stepping down in October last year.
She had waived her right to anonymity in the case.
The trial, expected to last for two weeks, continues.
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