Holly Willoughby stuns in rare photo on night out with Emma Bunton and pals

18 January 2024 , 09:59

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Holly recently returned to public life after a three-month hiatus (Image: Kieron McCarron/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Holly Willoughby returned to social media with a rare personal snap alongside Emma Bunton.

The Dancing On Ice presenter took a step back from sharing glimpses of her personal life after it emerged the Metropolitan Police had foiled a plan to kidnap and murder the television star which left her shaken. Following this, Holly announced an immediate hiatus from all work. She did, however, return to Dancing On Ice last weekend bringing her three-month hiatus to an end.

And as her best friend Emma prepares for her 48th birthday, Holly, 42, and a string of famous pals hit the town to celebrate in style. In view of her 8.5million followers, the Wylde Moon founder looked sensational in a new picture.

Holly Willoughby looked sensational alongside a string of famous pals for Emma Bunton's birthday (hollywilloughby / Instagram)

Posing alongside the Spice Girls star, All Saints singer Nicole Appleton, Christine Lampard and pals Shiarra Bell and Niki Demetz, the quintet all smiled for the selfie. Writing alongside the snap, Holly penned: "Happiest of birthdays Baby! Wishing @emmaleebunton a very happy (early) birthday… love ya! @shishib @nicoleappleton @christinelampard #nikidemetz."

Her upload has been liked over 34,000 times and was soon flooded with compliments from her adoring fans, with one penning: "Love this, all beautiful ladies." A second went on to type: "Oh what gorgeous girls! Happy birthday @emmaleebunton." "Beautiful (smiley, happy, loving, caring) group of friends," added a third.

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Holly and Emma's friendship goes back decades (Holly Willoughby Instagram)

A fourth follower commented: "There's girl power there what a lovely picture. Happy birthday Emma." Holly's post is her third of the year after the TV star confirmed she would be returning to Dancing On Ice, despite speculation she wouldn't be. Following her traumatic ordeal, Holly shared a script ahead the first episode.

"And so it begins…," she wrote as a string of famous faces rushed to offer their support. Since her return, fans of the programme have noted that Holly appears to be "thriving". She had presented the majority of the show's 15 previous series with her former best pal, Phillip Schofield since 2006.

The mum-of-three was said to be "nervous, but excited" about the prospect of her comeback, which ultimately appeared to go as smoothly as she could have hoped. As the show aired, fans took to X (formerly Twitter ) to gush over Holly's "fun" persona and praised her chemistry with her new co-presenter Stephen Mulhern - with whom she previously worked on the kids' show Ministry of Mayhem in 2004. One user gushed: "Stephen and Holly have been amazing. Injected some real fun, weekend light entertainment vibes back into the show."

Another agreed: "Holly is thriving without Pip Schofield. I feel like she’s able to have fun with Stephen and they just work together. She’s also given an opportunity to speak rather than being spoken over constantly like he used to do."

Daniel Bird