Defendant's 'dark' thoughts about Holly Willoughby

A security guard accused of plotting to abduct, rape and murder Holly Willoughby admitted to a court his thoughts about the TV personality were "dark".

Gavin Plumb, 37, said messages allegedly describing his "ultimate fantasy" were "not the sort of route I would normally go down".

Giving evidence at Chelmsford Crown Court, Mr Plumb said that with hindsight his online chats were "massively regrettable" and carrying out those fantasies was "something I knew that was never going to happen".

The defendant, from Harlow, Essex, has denied soliciting murder, inciting kidnap and inciting rape.

Giving evidence earlier, Mr Plumb said he had often frequented online chat rooms that acted as "fantasy sites".

Asked by his defence barrister Sasha Wass KC what he fantasised about, Mr Plumb said: "Having sex with other people.

"It would be people that other people know or a celeb - or it would be random people."

The 37-year-old claimed his offences were a "cry for help" as he "needed to get out" of a toxic relationship.

Asked by prosecutor Alison Morgan KC what it felt like "when you put that tape around the wrists of that girl" in a shop in 2008, Mr Plumb replied: "I was scared."

The trial was previously told that Mr Plumb "spent many hours planning an attack" on Ms Willoughby "that would involve violence, rape and ultimately murder".

He is alleged to have shared these plans with two other people online, including a vision of using chloroform to incapacitate the broadcaster after breaking into her house.

Asked about the allegations, Mr Plumb admitted he had "dark" chats about her online after watching her on daytime TV.

"It's not the sort of route I would normally go down for a chat, but it was a chat that I was having," the defendant said.

"Looking back at it now, it's something that is massively regrettable because it's not the usual chat I would participate in."

When asked why he continued to participate, Mr Plumb responded: "It's going to sound really bad, but it was gratification.

"It was something I knew that was never going to happen, I'm just passing the time chatting."

The defendant said he was "regularly friend-zoned" in his teenage years - told by girls he fancied that they would only ever be friends.

Mr Plumb added that Ms Willoughby was his "celebrity crush" and that he would sometimes think about her "four, five, six times a day".

The defendant said his mental health had previously been affected by his weight "fluctuating" from the age of 13 - peaking at 35.5st (225kg).

"I physically couldn't move without being in pain or breathless," he told jurors.

He added that in 2014 he gained an interest in bondage during sex.

Mr Plumb claimed that was why he had hand and ankle shackles, a rope and a ball gag at his home when the police arrested him in October 2023.

Being cross-examined by prosecutor Alison Morgan KC, Mr Plumb said he had "no ill feelings in any way, shape or form" towards Ms Willoughby.

"I completely regret this chat, I am absolutely disgusted it has come out," he said.

"Of course, I’m sorry for the context of the chat, absolutely - I'm disgusted, I'm heartbroken and shocked it has come out as it was meant to be an online chat."

Ms Morgan said: "You are discussing a plan where Holly Willoughby will be kidnapped, raped repeatedly and then killed."

Mr Plumb responded: "There is no plan".

The trial has been told that Mr Plumb's arrest was made after he disclosed his alleged plot online to an undercover police officer from the US.

The officer, who gave evidence on Thursday, notified the FBI of the defendant's "alarming" plan before UK authorities were informed.

The defendant would continue to give evidence on Friday as the trial continued.