How Holly Willoughby’s ‘opportunistic’ husband Dan Baldwin has set his sights on becoming the new Simon Cowell

HE is best known for being Mr Holly Willoughby, but after decades working in the TV industry, Dan Baldwin is finally stepping out of his wife’s shadow.

The production boss, 49, has been branded the new King of Saturday Night TV after spear- heading the triumphant return of Gladiators on BBC One. And he is not stopping there.

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Dan Baldwin and Holly Willoughby have been married for 17 yearsCredit: Getty – Contributor

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Holly has fronted many of Dan’s showsCredit: Rex

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Dan got Holly on Celebrity Juice with Keith LemonCredit: Rex

Dan wants to emulate the success of TV royalty Simon Cowell and become the most powerful man on the box.

A TV insider says: “Dan has major plans to dominate TV. He’s seen how Simon has created a dynasty and wants to follow suit.

“There’s a clear goal not just to match what Simon has achieved but also bring TV into a new era by creating a fresh batch of blockbuster shows and huge stars on multiple lucrative platforms.

“He’s always been ambitious but he’s really ramped up his empire building now.”

Dan, who shares three children with 43-year-old Holly — Harry, 14, daughter Belle, 12, and nine-year-old son Chester — has recently set up his own agency, Hungry Bear Talent, and signed up almost all the cast of Gladiators, ensuring he gets a cut of lucrative deals they could earn off the back of the hit show.

Growing empire

The savvy move echoes the formula enjoyed by Simon, who made a fortune out of the stars of his talent shows X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent by signing them to his Syco record label.

Whenever One Direction, Leona Lewis or Susan Boyle bagged a No1 or sold out a tour, Simon’s bank balance moved up another notch.

But unlike Simon during his peak money-making years, Dan has the opportunity to thoroughly exploit the lucrative social media market, which will boost the coffers of his already sizable net worth of £3million.

The move into talent has caused a stir within the industry, with some figures describing him as “opportunistic” and questioning the ethics of leveraging his position for personal gain.

Though those more in tune with the cut-throat world of entertainment have saluted the acquisition, feeling he has simply used shrewd business acumen by positioning him and his clients for greater success and visibility.

Holly Willoughby wows Dancing on Ice viewers with a new hairstyle and a pink dress

The new set-up has enhanced his standing and increasing influence in the TV world — Saturday nights in particular.

Not only is the Gladiators reboot thriving, 8.7million viewers tuned in for its launch last month, his production company Hungry Bear Media — which he co-founded with TV vision executive Juliet Denison Gay — also makes critically acclaimed series Michael McIntyre’s Big Show.

His other big TV hits in production include Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel and Breaking Dad, starring Gladiators father-and-son hosts Bradley and Barney Walsh.

His growing empire and desire to follow in Simon’s footsteps will shine more of a spotlight on Dan, who has always been happy for Holly to hog the limelight.

He’s seen how Simon has created a dynasty and wants to follow suit

TV insider

But just like his wife of 17 years, he mixes in incredibly powerful circles, enjoying holidays with Ant and Dec, he’s best pals with Bradley Walsh and This Morning host and fellow Arsenal season ticket holder Dermot O’Leary, plus he has close links with BBC head honcho Charlotte Moore, who has green lit many of his shows.

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Michael McIntyre’s Big Show is produced by Hungry Bear Media, which Dan co-foundedCredit: BBC

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Dan wants to emulate the success of TV royalty Simon CowellCredit: Getty

Indeed, in November 2022, she took him and Holly to the Variety Club showbiz awards at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel.

And he has used Holly’s pulling power to great effect, securing her as the face of many of his shows.

These include Freeze The Fear With Wim Hof in 2022, sports comedy show Play To The Whistle, which featured Bradley, Holly and ex-Chelsea and England star Frank Lampard and ran on ITV from 2015 to 2017, plus Take Off With Bradley & Holly — a Generation Game-style BBC Saturday Night series.

A source close to the the telly power couple said: “Dan and Holly have profited from each other’s talents, there’s no doubt about that.

“He makes the shows, she presents them and they know exactly how their joint projects should come off.

“It’s a perfect scenario and one they’ll continue to thrive off for many years.”

Dan can also be credited for turning Holly into a TV superstar by helping her evolve from a kids’ presenter to a super-professional and respected host of both daytime and evening programming, thanks to her role on ITV2 panel show Celebrity Juice, on which he served as executive producer.

It was Dan who encouraged outrageous host Keith Lemon to refer to his wife as “Holly Willoughbooby”, poking fun at her famous cleavage.

He also urged him to involve her in his naughtiest material, as well ensuring she played parts in the show’s most risqué games, which included her and fellow team captain Fearne Cotton carrying an olive between their tongues.

Dan and Holly have profited from each other’s talents, there’s no doubt about that

Source

Recalling his role in the show, which ran from 2008 to 2022, Keith, real name Leigh Francis, said: “When I do Juice there’s often someone in my ear going, ‘Say this’.

“Normally it’s Holly’s husband saying, ‘Say this bad thing to my wife’, and I’m like, ‘No way! I’m not saying that!’”

Dan started his TV career as a researcher for BBC One Saturday morning show Live & Kicking, impressing to such a degree that he became a series producer at the corporation aged just 26.

He then moved to MTV after landing the role of head of programming and production, before returning to Saturday morning television to work on ITV’s Ministry Of Mayhem, aged 31, where he met Holly, who presented the programme alongside Stephen Mulhern and Michael Underwood.

Really cool

The series, later rebranding as Holly And Stephen’s Saturday Showdown, ran from 2004 to 2006 and was viewed as a replacement for SMTV Live and CD:UK, hosted by Ant and Dec and Cat Deeley, and very much put Holly on the TV map.

However, sparks hardly flew between Dan and the blonde TV host on first sight.

Speaking to Celebrity Juice star Keith, Holly revealed what she thought of her future husband when they first met.

Holly said: “I thought, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to hate this guy’.”

Asked by Keith if she fancied him straight away she replied: “No, not at all.

“He’d come from MTV and he was very cool for school and I was in the studio doing silly pirouettes and being stupid and he looked at me like I was this wally of a person that was just doing spinning around.

“I thought, ‘Oh my god, I hate [him], he just thinks he’s really cool’.”

Keith then asked if Holly thought he “was a d**khead” and she responded: “A little bit.”

Dan and Holly live in South West London in a stunning £3million, six-bedroom Edwardian property boasting a huge kitchen and vast garden and have their various awards on display.

In Dan’s case that is a collection growing fast, with a Bafta, two National Television Awards and two Royal Television Society Awards.

If his shows continue to flourish, he will need to invest in a larger mantelpiece.

It might even be bigger than X Factor boss Simon’s.

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Dan’s other big TV hits in production also include Michael McIntyre’s The WheelCredit: BBC

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Holly’s husband has been branded the new King of Saturday Night TV after spearheading the return of GladiatorsCredit: PA

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Breaking Dad, starring Bradley and Barney Walsh, is also produced by DanCredit: ITV