In a move that raised eyebrows among branding experts, TV presenter Holly Willoughby took to Instagram to promote her personal perfume line just a day after being involved in a car accident. The incident, which occurred in West London, involved Willoughby’s vehicle colliding with a moped rider, an event that later led to a legal admission of guilt for careless driving.

The court heard that the 44-year-old was driving when she attempted a right turn into a side street without signaling. Unfortunately, this maneuver took her directly into the path of a scooter that was overtaking her car, resulting in a serious accident. The moped rider, affected by the crash, sustained a broken neck and toe, while Willoughby reportedly found the ordeal ‘traumatizing.’

Despite the gravity of the situation, Willoughby’s Instagram followers were surprised to see her posting promotional content the very next day. The images featured Willoughby in a series of glamorous shots, posing on a beach with a sunhat and holding a bottle of her Wylde Moon perfume up close to the camera.

Experts suggest that the timing of these posts might be an unfortunate oversight in social media management, as the juxtaposition of the serious accident and the light-hearted promotional content could be seen as insensitive.

The glamorous images showed her posing at a beach in a sunhat, pouting as she held the transparent bottle up to the camera.

Holly wrote: ‘As summer draws to an end and the pile of unlabelled school uniform looks impatiently at you from the corner, I swear mine tutted at me as I walked past! (winking emoji)

‘Here’s a little treat to raise your spirits…Starting now, we’re giving you 15% off our best-selling Eau de Parfum all weekend!’

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on Holly’s part, and the post is likely to have been scheduled in advance to be published on her social media profile in line with the promotional offer.

Holly Willoughby shared an image of her own-brand perfume on Instagram a day after she knocked a moped rider from his vehicle

The post was made on August 29 – a day after the incident in West London. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on her part and it may have been scheduled in advance 

It is also unknown whether Holly wrote and published the social media post herself.

The Daily Mail has contacted her team for comment.

Brand and culture expert Nick Ede told the Mail that the promotional post was highly unlikely to have been an off-the-cuff decision on the day – and had likely been scheduled in advance.

‘I think it’s important to remember that so much of what talent and brands post these days is pre-planned, pre-approved and scheduled weeks sometimes months in advance,’ he said.

‘Nothing about Holly’s post at the time looked deliberate or insensitive; it was just very unfortunate timing.

‘From what we know, the incident itself was clearly traumatic for everyone involved, Holly included, and I’m sure her focus at the time was entirely on the seriousness of what had happened. 

‘The idea that she would then immediately pivot to promoting a product doesn’t ring true especially as we know what a compassionate and kind person she is, this is almost certainly a scheduled post that simply went out as planned.’

He added that celebrities need to be aware of ‘optics’ of a post – the way in which it might be perceived by the public once they are in full possession of the facts – particularly when scheduling them days, weeks or even months in advance.

‘The bigger learning here, for all celebrities and influencers, is that in an age of packed content calendars, it’s wise to have someone sense-check what’s scheduled when something unexpected happens,’ he continued.

‘It’s just about being aware of optics and making sure the timing doesn’t unintentionally send the wrong message. But in this case, I think it’s an example of bad timing rather than anything deliberate.’

Holly Willoughby pictured with her Mini Cooper earlier this year. She pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention via post

Lavender Hill Magistrates Court heard on Tuesday how Holly had turned into the moped rider’s path without indicating, and may not have checked her mirrors for oncoming traffic.

CCTV footage from nearby buildings showed the moped careen into the front wing of Holly’s £25,000 Mini Cooper, unable to avoid it at the last second. 

The rider was sent spiralling into the road as Holly hit the brakes. She got out the car and offered the man water and the use of her mobile phone. She admitted fault at the scene and pleaded guilty by post at the first opportunity.

Aisling Byrnes, defending, said of Holly: ‘She was traumatised to find she had caused this accident and the injury.

‘This was an unsafe manoeuvre. There was no indicator used. Whether she looked in her mirrors is unclear. The driver didn’t see the overtaking moped driver.

‘This error is one that was completely out of character for Mrs Baldwin, who is of otherwise exemplary character.’ 

The case was called in Holly’s married name: she is married to producer Daniel Baldwin.

A fine of £1,653 was reduced from £2,480 in light of her early guilty plea. Costs and surcharges took the total to £2,444 – and she was hit with six points on her licence.

Holly runs Wylde Moon – her answer to Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop – with her sister Kelly, who is seen as one of her closest confidantes as well as business associates.