The TV presenter last graced our screens a year ago but is said to have a comeback plan in full swing as she banks on new Netflix documentary to secure her rise back to fame
Holly Willoughby was dubbed “collateral damage” by some after she swiftly left This Morning soon after her co-presenter Phillip Schofield was caught in an affair scandal.
Since then, the TV presenter, 45, has kept out of the limelight after more than two decades on our screens. But sources now claim she’s ready for a comeback and wants to win back her fans after a number of scandals led to her career taking a major hit.
“Holly’s been offered a three-part, fly-on-the-wall Netflix series, similar to Victoria Beckham‘s,” a source told HeatWorld this week. “It’s being seen as her chance to reset everything and start gaining back her fans by showing the side of her that no one really knows in the most raw and real way she can.”
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The tell-all documentary would likely address some of the controversies she found herself in, including her fall out with her bestie Phillip Schofield. The pair – who hosted This Morning together for 14 years – were inseparable, but both came in for heavy criticism during ‘queue-gate’ in 2022, when they were accused of skipping the queue to see the late Queen lying in state.
Their friendship then broke down in May 2023, when Phil, 63, quit the show after admitting to having an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a younger male colleague. Things only became more difficult for Holly when five months later, she also quit the ITV programme, following a terrifying kidnap, rape and murder plot against her.
With all eyes on who is set to replace Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly on Strictly, rumours quickly spread that Holly could be a key contender. But BBC bosses have remained painfully silent on the matter. Explaining Holly’s professional predicament, PR expert Maya Riaz recently told the Mirror: “For years Holly was seen as the nation’s sweetheart. Recently she has become a lightning rod for criticism.
“The Strictly rumours and the lack of primetime opportunities are signals that broadcasters are nervous about divisive figures, especially ones who have had a run of negative headlines. TV executives rarely say it out loud, but they all naturally ask the same question of whether a person is still worth the risk?”
Holly has been running her beauty business Wylde Moon, and the production company she co-owns with her husband Dan Baldwin. Her business empire was estimated to be worth a cool £10 million, but fast forward two years later and her professional life has seemingly taken a downward turn.
The beloved TV star’s return to Dancing on Ice was short-lived, with the show axed from screens just a year after she made a comeback, and earlier this year she quit ITV’s game show You Bet! after just one series.
Another one of her gigs, Celebrity Bear Hunt with Bear Grylls, was axed in 2025. Meanwhile, her lifestyle business Wylde, once predicted to make the star between six to £12 million, reportedly had just £1,885 in reserves in 2024.
Her personal life has been no less complicated. Holly was the victim of a terrifying rape and kidnap plot in 2024, where former security guard Gavin Plumb crafted a detailed and sinister plot to target the star in her family home. Harrowingly, Plumb had also planned to attack Holly’s husband and their children. Last October, the depraved stalker tried to appeal his sentence, likely causing fresh anguish for the TV star.
In December, Holly pleaded guilty to knocking a man off his scooter while driving her £25,000 Mini Cooper near her £3m London home last August. The victim was sent crashing to the ground when Holly turned right into a side street without indicating, and suffered a fracture to his neck and a broken toe, the court heard.
The victim, driving a Piaggio scooter, was overtaking her at the time at around 20mph. Mum-of-three Holly, who didn’t attend in court, was handed six points on her licence and fined £1,653. The presenter was also ordered to pay £130 in prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £661.
So it’s no wonder the TV star wants to win back some of her lost fans. The souce told Heat Magazine: “Holly is painfully aware she has to reinvent herself if she wants to stay relevant and have any hope of a future in the spotlight, which has prompted a huge shift in her thinking.”
Digging into the star’s business flop, PR guru Mayah Riaz explains: “The Wylde Moon figures speak for themselves. It seems the audience has disengaged. It is less about the business model and more about Holly’s cooling influence as a lifestyle figure. When the public stops buying into your image, it shows up in your commercial ventures first.”
But where did it all go wrong for the star who once captivated millions of Brits across the country? “Holly’s turning point was the moment she moved from relatable to remote,” Maya warns. “The queue jump row, the fallout around This Morning and now this driving case have all chipped away at the girl next door image that made her so bankable. Familiarity used to be her superpower but today that is her biggest challenge.
“Yes, there may be a way back. But it will not be quick. Holly needs to step away, take stock and return with authenticity. She needs to stop trying to reclaim the old crown and instead show the audience who she is now. If she leans into honesty rather than perfection, she has a chance to rebuild.
“The public can forgive mistakes, but they need to see genuine remorse and a shift in behaviour. If she gets that right she could craft a second chapter based on realness rather than gloss.”
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