Holly Willoughby grants a rare glimpse of family life with snaps from her Maldives holiday

Over her two-week break from This Morning, Holly Willoughby — along with husband Dan Baldwin and their three children — ducked away from the limelight to what looks a lot like heaven on earth. Their stay at the Laamu Atoll resort saw plenty of opportunity for some candid Instagramming, including daughter Belle’s 8th birthday and a rare photo of the whole brood beneath a balmy sky, captioned ‘Heavens above…’

While Holly’s known for keeping her home life private, fans were delighted to glimpse behind the curtain on the family’s intimate break. It wasn’t all quiet, though – a chance meeting with fellow presenter Davina McCall turned into a surfing session for the two mums after Davina introduced Holly to the waves. ‘And look who I bump into... such a surprise to get to spend some real time with @davinamccall’, wrote Willoughby on Instagram under a picture of the duo posing with their boards in the sun.

It sounds like their kids had as much fun hanging out as Holly and Davina – Willoughby wrote to McCall “... you are a total dream boat my kids adore you and seeing our two Chester’s together was just AMAZING!... thank you for taking me surfing... love ya! 💕’ Meanwhile, Davina posted ‘Bumped into lovely @hollywilloughby while we were away... always loved you holly ...but really feel like I know you even better now💖 my kids are still raving about yours 🥰 same again next year 😎🏄‍♀️🏄‍♀️🏄‍♀️🏄‍♀️🏄‍♀️🏄‍♀️’

Another post — so idyllic that we’d suggest the caption Instagram 101 — sees Holly pictured from behind in a glorious pastel mauve crop top and shorts set by @beach_flamingo, which we may or may not have already ordered to see us though the scorching long weekend. While Holly’s expected to be back on our screens from Tuesday in This Morning, we’re so pleased to see she had a chance to unwind; in her words, the trip saw her able to “[unpack her] bag and [her] mind” – and gave us plenty of inspiration for our next break. Pass the surfboard, Davina.