Holly Willoughby pleads guilty to careless driving after scooter crash

HOLLY WILLOUGHBY has pleaded guilty to careless driving and to knocking a rider off his scooter in London on August 28. The court stated the victim, a 43-year-old man, suffered a fracture to his neck and a broken toe due to the crash.

Willoughby collides with scooter rider, injuring him

The 44-year-old English TV personality had been driving her £25,000 (around €28,400) Mini Cooper at the time without due care or attention, and collided with the scooter rider near her £3 million (around €3.4 million) home in Richmond, located in the southwest of London. The hearing took place at Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, December 2 in Willoughby’s absence, where she pleaded guilty through the post.

Willoughby was fined £1,653 (nearly €1,900) alongside £130 (nearly €150) in costs and a £661 (just over €750) victim surcharge, to be paid within two weeks, and was also given six points on her licence. Footage was shown in court of Willoughby turning right onto a side street without using her indicator lights. The victim, who was on a white Piaggio scooter and had been overtaking her at around 32 kilometres per hour, crashed to the ground after the collision.

Police were called to Church Road, Barnes, after the collision was reported.

Statements from the court case held in Willoughby’s absence

Said Prosecutor Geraldine Dickinson, “The intention was to turn right, which she did without indicating and the rider was thrown from the motorbike.”

The victim, in his own statement, told the court he had been slowing down to stop at a red light, when Willoughby turned right without indicating.

Aisling Byrnes, the lawyer who was defending Willoughby, said she had a “momentary lapse in judgment.” Byrnes added that “She was horrified to find she had caused this accident and the injury, that really upset her,” and that the accident was “completely out of character” for Willoughby.

According to Byrnes, Willoughby, who appeared on the court list under her married name of Baldwin, left her vehicle immediately to offer the victim water and her phone. She also remained at the scene until police officers arrived and admitted guilt at the scene. The victim’s injuries were found to be neither life-threatening nor life-changing.

Magistrate David Charnley, who passed the sentence, said, “There was no use of vehicle indicators and mirrors were either not checked or for some reason, Ms Baldwin did not see the motorbike rider.”

A troubled couple of years for the television star

The charge comes after a difficult couple of years for Willoughby, who made the decision to leave ITV chat show This Morning in October 2023 after 14 years of co-hosting with Phillip Schofield, who also left the programme earlier that year. 

Willoughby and Schofield had a public falling out after his “unwise but not illegal” affair with a younger male colleague working on the show was revealed, ultimately leading to Schofield leaving the show. The pair had hosted the show for more than a decade together, and participated in Dancing on Ice from 2006 to 2011, and then from 2018 until Schofield’s departure from ITV.

Additionally, former security guard Gavin Plumb was convicted of plotting to kidnap, rape, and murder Willoughby. He had accumulated more than 10,000 images of Holly, planned a home invasion plot, and even shared his “kidnap kit” online with an undercover US officer. The court heard how his plan had “traumatised” Willoughby and had a “life-changing impact” on her. Plumb, 37, was jailed for life with a minimum sentence of 16 years.

Willoughby planning a ‘comeback’ to television following difficulties

Willoughby has since returned to screens earlier this year on Netflix’s Celebrity Bear Hunt alongside British adventurer, writer, and television personality Bear Grylls, but the show has since been cancelled. Willoughby is reportedly planning a TV comeback, and rumours are circulating that she will appear on BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing.

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