HOLLY Willoughby has opened up on her ‘incredibly shy’ days at school, after breaking the silence on a tumultuous 18 months.
Speaking for the first time about leaving This Morning, the presenter, 43, revealed it was “an easy decision”.
Not only did Holly get candid on her ‘tough’ year, but she also discussed her childhood days and forcing herself to ‘break fears’.
Opening up to The Sunday Times Style Magazine, the mum-of-three, who was born in Brighton and went to a private school, explained: “I was incredibly shy at school.”
The blonde beauty got candid on her early modelling days – which saw her on the cover of Just Seventeen, the holy grail of Nineties’ teen modelling gigs.
She confessed: “When I started modelling, going on castings, I remember walking into a room, waiting to go in, and there were a load of girls – you’d see the same faces all the time – and they’d be chatting and having a laugh. I felt very much like, God, I’m not like that.”
But she was eager to fit in and work on her confidence, as she admitted: “I remember thinking, you’ve got to really learn quickly. I had to force myself to break through that fear.”
And although Holly “didn’t feel” like the ‘prettiest girl in town’, she explained: “I don’t think image was as huge a thing then as it is now. I’m glad I grew up at a time when social media wasn’t there and you weren’t looking at yourself all the time. It wasn’t really a thing.”
Not only did Holly, who previously opened up on hiding behind her fringe whilst at school, share an insight into her life growing up, but she also opened up on stepping down from presenting work entirely after discovering a plot to kidnap and murder her.
She said: “It’s been tough. There’s no way of sugar-coating it.”
Discussing why she felt moving forward was her only option, the mum-of-three said: “Sometimes things go wrong, but you have to keep going for it because that’s all you can do.”
Also opening up in her first chat since her stalker was jailed for life, Holly explained that she “had to go on” and “focus on the positive”.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”First look at Holly Willoughby’s new Netflix show as she screams in horror and celebrities clash over ‘hell’ tasks” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6367071168112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Obsessed security guard Gavin Plumb was jailed for life last July over his plan to ambush Holly at her home.
The 37-year-old loner wanted to knock her out with chloroform and take her to a dungeon where her screams would not be heard “for miles”.
[quote credit=”Holly Willoughby”]I had to force myself to break through that fear[/quote]Holly has so far told of the ordeal only in a statement given at Plumb’s trial.
When asked by The Sunday Times if there was a moment when she could have let the situation consume her, Holly said: “It wasn’t an option.”
Last month, Holly returned to Dancing On Ice, a series she has presented on and off since 2006 – and much of that time she had her This Morning partner Phillip Schofield by her side.
But now, Holly is returning to the limelight with a new Netflix show alongside Bear Grylls – Celebrity Bear Hunt, as well as currently hosting Dancing on Ice.
The show airs next month and features adventurer Bear Grylls chasing a line-up of famous names in the Costa Rican jungle.
Holly and adventurer Bear, 50, filmed the brand new format last year.
