The stressful secret behind Holly Willoughby’s ‘perfect life’

She’d only just returned to the This Morning sofa after the Christmas break, but last week it emerged that Holly Willoughby will take time out from her presenting role on the daytime show to film a new series with rival channel, BBC1.

Reports claim ITV golden girl Holly, 40 – who has hosted the popular morning show alongside best pal Phillip Schofield, 59, for 13 years – will take time off to film for Wim Hof’s Superstar Survival, which she will present alongside comedian Lee Mack.

And while Holly is venturing into new territory professionally as she sees a group of celebrities take on extreme challenges set by “The Iceman” – Wim’s nickname after he set world records for sitting in ice baths – she’ll also be taking on a tough challenge personally as she finds herself zipping from long days filming in the Alps back to London, where she’s co-hosting ITV1’s Dancing On Ice.

As Closer went to press, Holly – who shares children Harry, 12, Belle, 10, and Chester, seven with husband Dan Baldwin, 47 – was said to be flying to southern Europe on Monday, just hours after she launches the new series of DOI on Sunday night.

During her almost three- week stint, Holly is expected to spend week days in freezing conditions on set, before flying home to glam up for the ice-skating competition, filmed in Hertfordshire – just over an hour away from her family home in West London – at the weekends.

Even for one of the nation’s most successful presenters who, with an estimated net worth of £10 million, has built her career around smart business decisions, resilience, and popularity – Holly’s latest challenge seems like a lot to take on.

And PR expert Nick Ede says that while she’s the golden girl of TV, long days filming, flying to-and-fro, and presenting live TV at the weekends could prove a “strain”.

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He says, “Holly’s flexing her wings and working out what’s next for her. She’s already made the empowering moves of becoming her own manager, launching her lifestyle brand and writing her book.

“But that isn’t to say it won’t be a strain – the next two-and-a-half weeks could be stressful. It’ll be long days full of rehearsals in freezing temperatures, outfit fittings, hair and make-up. Filming can take hours and hours due to tech issues and certain time frames, so it definitely isn’t all glitz and glamour. To viewers, a showbiz career might look like the perfect life, but to get to the top takes a lot of hard work, relentless energy and a lot of travelling, and that can take it out of you. She’ll have to switch on her dazzling smile for Dancing On Ice on live TV, even if inside she’s feeling exhausted. She’s got so much on – she’ll have the pressure of a new show, DOI, running her businesses and being a mum. It’s a lot for anyone.

“However, Holly’s a hard worker and her ability to compartmentalise is part of what’s made her so successful. She’s well-seasoned in TV and must believe she can handle it, or she wouldn’t have taken it on.”

Check out: Holly Willoughby's This Morning outfits and dupes

Holly is no stranger to hard work after over 20 years in the industry and appearing in several hit shows including Dancing On Ice, I’m A Celebrity!, Celebrity Juice and The Xtra Factor – but has previously admitted she’d always dreamt of being a stay-at-home mum.

Revealing she struggles with “mum guilt” while being away from her family, Holly said, “Becoming a mum was the only thing I knew I definitely wanted when I was growing up, but the image I had never involved me being a working mum, and that’s been the biggest challenge. I’ve been riddled with guilt about getting that part wrong. You love them so much and you don’t want to mess them up.”

She confessed she’d gone through a transformative period while standing in for Ant McPartlin on I’m a Celebrity! in 2018, when she revealed she experienced a moment of clarity while experimenting with alternative therapies – including use of crystals for healing and kinesiology. It was “the beginning” of the spiritual journey that led her to launch lifestyle website, Wylde Moon, in September, and start to follow other passion projects.

Holly also wrote in her recent book, Reflections, that she’d undergone a period of self-reflection in the lead-up to her 40th birthday last year.

“It wasn’t a search for something new, it was a search for something lost. Life is very paved out for you… I ticked everything off and it was lovely… but what’s next? It was the first time in my life I thought, ‘I can actually choose’”, she told friend Ferne Cotton on her Happy Place podcast in November.

She added, “I love my job, I love working on This Morning, and I feel lucky to be in it. But sometimes you go, ‘Where do my passions lie now?’”

And Nick says that while Holly is in a great position to be able to pursue projects she loves, she also knows that now is the time to capitalise on her popularity to protect her future earnings.

He adds, “Holly knows this is her golden window of opportunity to work out what the future holds. She’s the goose that lays the golden TV eggs right now, so she’s making the most of all the opportunities she’s offered.

“She’s a clever businesswoman, very strong in her opinions and she can command a lot. She’s one of the most powerful players in the industry.”

Nick adds that while Holly has previously said she has no plans to change her existing commitments, if her star keeps rising, she may be forced to let something go.

He says, “This Morning is always going to be what people love her for and she has said she’s not going anywhere, but if she keeps taking on new projects, something will have to give.”

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‘Her show could be the new I’m A Celeb!’

With harsh conditions, sub-zero temperatures, tough challenges and a team of celebrity contestants, Holly’s new venture Wim Hof’s Superstar Survival is set to be a gripping watch, with BBC producers describing it as “an epic adventure of self-improvement and a unique test of mental strength like no other”. The celebs – yet to be revealed – will be put through gruelling tasks under the guidance of well-being icon “Wim Hof” – aka “The Iceman” –famous for his mental strength and his ability to withstand freezing temperatures, and who Holly is said to be a mega-fan of.

And Nick Ede says that with the success of other celebrity survival TV shows, it’s set to be a hit when it airs later this year. He says, “We’ve seen with Celebrity Island With Bear Grylls and Celebrity SAS that viewers love to see stars out of their comfort zones. We see another side to them when they’re pushed to their limits.

“Holly went down a storm with viewers during her stint co-hosting I’m A Celeb! and she was hilarious on Celebrity Juice, so presumably producers of this new show are teaming her with a brilliant comic like Lee Mack to create a spark to rival Ant and Dec. Who knows, this could easily be the new I’m A Celeb!”

'Living with stress can be debilitating, but there are ways to ease this'

Women and mothers are at higher risks of burnout due to the responsibility and intense pressure put upon them in the modern world to maintain the perfect appearance, job and family life, but it’s crucial to prioritise our health.

Dr Alison McClymont, a leading psychologist with over a decade of experience working in mental health, warns of the dangers of suffering with burnout. She says: “Sometimes it can feel like we're coping when we've got a lot of things on but with stress comes adrenaline. And a prolonged period of running on adrenaline can produce the cortisol chemical, which can lead to poor sleep, weight gain, heart problems and mood swings among many other symptoms. Living with stress can be debilitating, but luckily, there are key things that Holly, and all women, can do to ease this.

The key three are sleep, time, and focus. Try get seven hours a night, because sleep really does refresh and detox your brain and mindset. Make time for your health, so make a schedule and prioritise exercise, social time, self-care and nutritious meals. And with regards to focus, be wary about your time on social media. Social media these days often leads to comparisons and unrealistic goals - remember the mantra of 'I am enough'."