He has endured a torrid two years since it first emerged that his co-presenter Phillip Schofield had been having an affair with a much younger colleague who was only 15 when Schofield first met him.
Things then became much, much bleaker when she learned she was the target of a kidnapping and murder plot, leading her to resign from ITV’s This Morning for her own safety, just five months after her resignation. Schofield.
But just when it seemed Holly Willoughby had put that terrible time behind her, reinforced by reports that ITV are keen to offer her a new £1million deal that would see her host three different shows, I can reveal she is facing another ordeal.
This time, the 43-year-old star faces a much better organized enemy than her would-be killer, the horrifying Gavin Plumb, who, much to Holly’s relief, was jailed for a minimum of 16 years last July.
He’s in the tax collector’s sights. Indeed, this week HMRC opened fire by issuing a winding-up petition against Roxy Media, the company Holly and her husband, TV producer Dan Baldwin, 46, set up in 2008.
It’s an intriguing development. Roxy Media owed £330,000 in corporate tax, as recorded in its most recently filed accounts, but one of Holly’s representatives tells me no informed comment can be made at this time.
This week, HMRC opened fire by issuing a winding-up petition against Roxy Media, the company Holly and her husband, TV producer Dan Baldwin, 46, founded in 2008.

He has endured a torrid two years since it first emerged that his co-presenter Phillip Schofield had been having an affair with a much younger colleague who was only 15 when Schofield first met him.

Gavin Plumb was jailed for a minimum of 16 years last July after plotting to kidnap, rape and murder Holly Willoughby.
A financial expert surmises that the confrontation may arise from different interpretations of Holly’s tax status.
“Her This Morning salary may have been paid to the company as self-employment income,” he tells me, “while the tax office may consider that she was an ITV employee and the income should have been taxed on a PAYE basis.” .
“Hopefully HMRC and Roxy Media have been in dialogue,” the expert adds, “so it is possible that the tax office has issued the petition in an attempt to speed things up.”
At least Holly can take comfort in knowing that she has a refuge where she can stay out of the fray while her accountants go to battle on her behalf.
Last year, she and Dan bought a six-bedroom house outside London, paying £8 million for it, with no mortgage.