Holly Willoughby and her TV producer husband Dan Baldwin suffer the same stresses and strain as any other parents, but Dan has a secret weapon for defusing the tension

Holly Willoughby cosied up to her rarely-seen husband Dan Baldwin at the National Television Awards (NTAs) on Wednesday night after making her red carpet return

Dancing On Ice’s Holly Willoughby boasts a long and admirable TV career – ranging from This Morning to Celebrity Juice. But whenever she gets too stressed out, or is in danger of taking herself too seriously, her husband, TV producer Dan Baldwin, has the gift of laughing her out of any kind of mood.

“My husband makes me laugh all the time,” Holly wrote in her book Reflections. “He’s the master of defusing situations by reminding us both of the funny side.

“If we’re having a disagreement about something, he can derail me and send me into giggles by saying something, and before you know it, the issue doesn’t seem quite so serious and we can resolve it with a more level head.”

Unlike Holly, TV producer Dan is rarely in the limelight

She says that Dan’s gift for defusing a tense situation with humour is a great tool when it comes to parenting, too. Holly, 43, has three children – Harry, Belle and Chester – and there are of course all the natural little tensions as children grow up and start testing their limits.

Dan and Holly met when they both worked on ITV’s Ministry of Mayhem in the early 2000s, and they married in 2007. She has previously said: “Marriage is something we have to work at.

“You’re an idiot if you think you just get married and then you tick along happily ever after for the rest of your life. At the same time, it shouldn’t be too difficult, but I do believe tiredness has a lot to answer for.”

Dan proposed to Holly when she was in the bath
Dan proposed to Holly when she was in the bath 

Holly added: “I mean obviously I really love Dan. We really have a good laugh together and I don’t want to sound like a massive cliché but we get on really well… I rely on him for a lot of stuff. I think we just work better as a pair.”

He reportedly popped the question while Holly was in the bath. Talking about the moment, Holly has said: “I know a lot of people almost have to force their boyfriend to propose but with Dan it was such a shock.”

She added: “I knew I’d be with him for the rest of my life, if he’d have me, but nothing can ever prepare you for what it’s like when someone asks you. I can’t think of any other big decision you make in your life that quickly.”