Security guard found guilty of planning to abduct, rape and murder Holly Willoughby

The 37-year-old was unanimously convicted of soliciting murder and inciting rape and kidnap against the star, who left the ITV show last October following his arrest.

He will be sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on July 12.

Plumb denied all counts, but was found guilty following an eight-day trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.

As the verdict was read out, Plumb slowly shook his head and looked down at the floor.

Justice Murray asked the 37-year-old to stand and then said: "You have been found guilty on all three counts on the indictment.

"You are remanded in custody to await the sentence hearing which is fixed for next Friday," he said, before sending Plumb down to the cells weeping.

Turning his attention toward the jury, he said: "The criminal justice system depends crucially on members of the public stepping up and serving as jurors and your work is crucial."

Following the guilty verdicts, Nicola Rice, a specialist prosecutor in the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Gavin Plumb is a dangerous man who plotted unspeakable violence against one of the nation’s most familiar faces.

“Despite his attempts to pass himself off as a harmless fantasist, the prosecution persuaded the jury that Plumb posed a very real threat.

“The chilling details of his plans were laid bear with the help of an undercover officer from the US who alerted the FBI to the threat, and the seriousness of Plumb’s scheme was exposed when the prosecution successfully applied to tell the jury about Plumb’s previous convictions.

“I hope his conviction brings some comfort to Holly Willoughby and her family, and shows others that the Crown Prosecution Service will always seek the strongest possible charges against those who plot violence against women.”

Plumb was infatuated with the former This Morning presenter. He amassed more than 10,000 images of her on his phone including deepfake pornography.

He was caught after unwittingly communicating online with an undercover police officer based in the US, who said that Plumb posed an "imminent threat". They then flagged Plumb to UK authorities.

The 37-year-old planned a "home invasion" attack, where he would use chloroform to subdue her and her husband, the TV producer Dan Baldwin. He would then tie them up, before kidnapping Willoughby and repeatedly raping her.

He then planned to kill her by "slitting her throat" and then dump her body in a lake.

Plumb told jurors he lived "99 per cent" of his life online and weighed up to 30 stone at the time of his arrest. He said he was "sorry" for the messages, and claimed that it was "never going to be anything more than a fantasy".

Willoughby did not attend the trial and was not involved in the police investigation.