06 October 2023 , 08:36
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Lorraine Kelly reached out to Holly Willoughby live on her show on Friday morning after the This Morning presenter is reportedly being guarded by police following an alleged kidnap attempt.
A 36-year-old man has been arrested in relation to an alleged plot to kidnap the TV star.
Essex Police said the suspect was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of conspiracy to kidnap and is in custody.
The force said: "A 36-year-old man from Harlow has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to kidnap as part of an ongoing investigation. The arrest was made on Wednesday 4 October. He is currently in custody."
On Friday's Lorraine, the Scottish presenter acknowledged that Holly was on the front page of the newspapers due to the alleged kidnap threat.
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Lorraine reached out to Holly with a supportive messageAfter explaining to viewers why Holly was missing from Thursday's This Morning, Lorraine reached out to her fellow ITV star.
Lorraine said: "Very upsetting and of course we're sending her all of our love and best wishes. That's a terrible thing to go through for her and her family."
This Morning viewers were left confused on Thursday when Josie Gibson was joined by Alison Hammond, but the pair failed to mention why Holly wasn't presenting the show as scheduled.
Holly, who had been presenting this week with Josie, was missing in usual the handover to Lorraine and it's since been confirmed Alison was forced to step in last-minute after ITV learnt of the alleged kidnap plot.
Alison and Josie avoided explaining why Holly was missing as confused fans took to X, formerly known at Twitter, to question Holly's absence. One fan posted: “No Holly today?! Devastated," and another added: “Not even a mention of why she’s not on today?!”
Police alerted ITV bosses about the alleged kidnap plot early Thursday morning and Holly was told shortly before she was due on air at 10am. ITV and Holly have yet to comment but it's understood there is a police guard outside the presenter's home, which she shares with her husband and three children.
Holly doesn't present This Morning on Fridays and so is not expected to host the ITV show today but is scheduled to return on Monday.