Holly Willoughby admits careless driving after crash breaks rider’s neck

TV presenter Holly Willoughby has admitted breaking a man's neck after knocking him off his scooter with her Mini Cooper in August. Photo / Getty Images

Holly Willoughby has admitted a charge where a man broke his neck after she knocked him off his scooter when driving her Mini Cooper.

The TV presenter, 44, crashed into the victim while turning right into a side street, without indicating, near her home in London on August 28.

Lavender Hill magistrates’ court heard the man also broke his toe during the crash.

A hearing took place in Willoughby’s absence after she admitted driving without due care and attention, the Sun reported.

Magistrates were shown footage of the collision.

The rider of a white Piaggio scooter was “thrown from the motorbike” after Willoughby failed to indicate, said Geraldine Dickinson, prosecuting.

In a victim impact statement, the rider, who has not been named, told the court the manoeuvre caused him to be “thrown to the ground in the carriageway”.

‘Horrified that she caused this accident’

Aisling Byrnes, in mitigation, said Willoughby had suffered a “momentary lapse in judgment” which was “completely out of character”.

“She was horrified to find she had caused this accident and the injury – that really upset her,” she said.

“She is extremely remorseful. She left her vehicle and went straight to the driver of the moped and offered him water and her phone and remained at the scene until the officers arrived.

“She admitted guilt at the scene and pleaded guilty via post as soon as she got the form.”

After her guilty plea, the television personality was given six penalty points and fined £2444 ($5628), including court costs, which must be paid within 14 days.

It is the latest incident in what has been a rocky few years for the Dancing On Ice presenter.

She had faced a separate court battle over a £300,000 outstanding tax bill after her media production and management firm was hit with a winding-up petition.

Accounts from Roxy Media, which she set up with her husband Dan Baldwin in 2020, showed it owed more than £320,000 in corporation tax.

The financial difficulties came after Willoughby’s decision to walk away from her role on This Morning after it emerged she had a stalker.

Gavin Plumb, 37, was sentenced to life in prison with a 16-year minimum term in July of last year after he plotted to kidnap, rape and kill her.

She stepped down from the show five months after her co-star Phillip Schofield, 62, also left following reports of his affair with a junior colleague.

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