How 35-stone Gavin Plumb starred on BBC weight loss show (2024)

A morbidly obese security guard who used the alias 'Big Bear' on a chat forum where he planned to kidnap, rape and murderHolly Willoughby once boasted about his weight loss in an interview with the BBC.

Gavin Plumb, 38, appeared in a standalone feature on the broadcaster's website in 2018 describing 'how he turned his life around and is now looking to the future with renewed hope'.

At the time he was a convicted criminal, having been found guilty of trying to force two women off a train with a fake gun in 2006 and attempting to tie up two teenagegirls in a Woolworths stock room in 2008.

There is no suggestion the BBC News was aware of these convictions at the time the article was published.

Plumb, who was 35 stone at his heaviest,said he worked at Pizza Hut and McDonald's in the past but gave up after his weight became unmanageable.He described his day-to-day life in the BBC feature, which came to light after his arrest.

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Segments show him describing being in pain due to his weight, discussing how he had not left his flat in four years and stating that he only stepped outside to put a binbag of rubbish in his bin.

He is also seen saying how he was 'frustrated' he couldn't play football.

Plumb once said he only ever walked out of his front door to go to the communal bins and didn't leave the house for years at one stage.

He had a gastric band fitted in 2018 and went on a liquid diet, but still remained severely obese.

Prior to his arrest, he had got a job as a security guard at The Pinnacles Shopping Centre in Harlow, Essex.

Plumb told the BBCprogramme: 'The last time I went out unaided was 2014 – it was my parents' wedding vow renewal.

'My weight has always fluctuated. At my heaviest, I was 35-and-a-half stone. When the weight started to pile on, that was when my mental health really went down.

'It's a vicious circle. When I'm depressed, I eat – and when I eat, I'm depressed. For a long time, I found it difficult walking around. But getting to the point of not being able to go out, that really crept up on me.

'I hate sitting indoors. I hate looking at the same four walls 24/7. I hate being the size I am.

'I'm pretty much in pain everywhere. I get chest pains and I've just been told it's because of my weight. I'm scared that if I have something to eat or if I get up and I do too much, that's it, I'm done.'

During his trial, Plumb sought to use his weight as proof he could have never realistically kidnapped Ms Willoughby, telling the jury he had'more chance of tripping over the step walking down' than jumping over a wall outside her home.

He told Chelmsford Crown Court that at the time he was arrested, he was somewhere 'between 25 and 30 stone'.

Asked by defence barrister Sasha Wass KC if he would have been able to jump over the wall outside Ms Willoughby's house at that time, he replied: 'I have got more chance of tripping over the step walking down.'

Ms Wass also asked Plumb about two bottles of chloroform he had bought, as she said: 'Did you intend to use it to incapacitate anyone?'

The defendant replied: 'No.'

The barrister continued: 'Your 'plan'... was incapacitating Ms Willoughby and getting her out of the house. How was that going to work?'

Plumb said: 'It wouldn't have done.'

Plumb's trial heard how he planned to chloroform Ms Willoughby before taking her to a'dungeon-style' room where her screams 'can't be heard for miles'.

However, the plot unravelled as one of the people he spoke to turned out to be a US-based undercover police officer using the pseudonym David Nelson, leading to details being passed to the British authorities.

MailOnline has contacted the BBC for comment.