Holly Willoughby enjoys boozy lunch with A-list pals Emma Bunton and Christine Lampard amid career ‘rebrand’
HOLLY Willoughby giggled the afternoon away on a boozy lunch with her star-studded girl squad after it was revealed she’s plotting a major career rebrand.
Former darling of ITV, Holly, 45, took centre stage in a fun video clip from a lunch date with pals Nicole Appleton, Emma Bunton, Christine Lampard and Vice President of Artist Relations at Universal Music, Shiarra Bell.
Mojitos looked to be the favoured drink for most of the girl gang, who appeared in playful mood as they looked into the camera.
Holly chose the Sex and the City theme to soundtrack the clip on Instagram and continued the US drama theme in the caption which referenced lead character Carrie Bradshaw [Sarah Jessica Parker].
She wrote: “As Carrie Bradshaw said… They say nothing lasts forever; dreams change, trends come and go, but friendships never go out of style. Love my girls…”
The post went down a treat.
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CBB legend Kate Lawler wrote: “Love the energy of this girl gang.”
EastEnders icon Sam Womack said: “Jealous!!!! Love you lot.”
One fan added: “Love that they’ve grown up in the industry together and remained friends. Bet their WhatsApp chats are juicy!”
Holly has been lying low since her time on Netflix‘s Celebrity Bear Hunt early last year.
She’s been absent from TV screens for the longest period in her career, having previously been an ever present on This Morning, Celebrity Juice and Dancing on Ice.
But the mum-of-three, who is married to TV producer Dan Baldwin, is now branching out from traditional TV and is preparing a comeback on YouTube.
Her channel will start with a magazine show similar to This Morning – effectively marking the dawn of “Holly TV”.
Our insider explained: “Holly has been slowly shedding her This Morning self for a few years now and has been gradually letting the fans see the real her more and more.
“Once rarely posting on social media, Holly will now happily share her outfits, favourite tipples and days out with her very cool group of pals.
“When she was on This Morning her friendship with the likes of the Appleton sisters was kept on the down-low but now there’s no need for her to live up to a certain image.
“She has always been a party girl at heart, but kept it very well hidden while on the daytime TV show.”
Since stepping back from the box, Holly has posted edgier content on social media, including an out of character F-bomb.
When American hip hop group Salt-N-Pepa announced they would be performing in the UK, a delighted Holly squealed online: “Excuse my language but f**k, I’ve waited my whole life for this.”
The insider continued: “Holly would never have sworn online while she was on This Morning but is deliberately showing a different side to herself. She wants to be seen as cool and edgy.
“She was definitely keeping up appearances while on the show and can now finally be herself fully.”
Though the former kids TV presenter has maintained a clean cut image, her party girl image has long been talked about in media circles.
In 2019 she partied until the early hours at The Streets’ comeback gig afterparty at Brixton Academy with Nicole Appleton, wearing a T-shirt that read: “Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go backstage”.
Her legendary drinking stamina has led to her being labelled a “robot” by pal Keith Lemon.
“Holly is a party animal. I’m a drinker, but I can’t keep up with her,” he told The Sun.
While Piers Morgan said: “Piers Morgan backed up his comments, admitting: “If I go to a party and Holly Willoughby is there, you know your liver is in for a caning, and you could end up in a career-ending situation. She’s a very dangerous lady. Very dangerous.”