Kate Garraway fought back tears on Tuesday’s Good Morning Britain as co-host Ranvir Singh halted the show to check on her wellbeing ahead of her first Christmas without husband Derek Draper.
The emotional moment came during a discussion about Christmas messages from the Prime Minister and King Charles when Ed Balls highlighted “a very important message about loneliness.”
Singh paused the scheduled news segment to ask Garraway: “Can I ask you a question Kate, before I do the news? How are you feeling? We all think of you and Derek of course. And this time last year he was still with us.”
Garraway is preparing to face her festive season without Derek, who died in January aged 56.
Garraway responded solemnly: “Yeah, so it’s our first Christmas without him. I’ve been talking to Andi Peters, who lost his mum, and warned me that Christmas is the hardest time.”
The presenter acknowledged the challenging period ahead: “I think this one will be particularly hard. But I’m lucky that I’ve got family around me and it’s distracting.”
Kate Garraway’s husband Derek Draper died in January this year
PA
She reflected on how the season intensifies feelings of loss: “But I think you do feel grief because that’s the point where you have the memories of previous years.”
Garraway expressed gratitude for the time they had together: “We were lucky enough to still have him over the last four or five years, even though there were times when he was very ill.”
When Singh asked if Draper had been very ill the previous Christmas, Garraway became visibly emotional as she confirmed: “He was, yes. He was in intensive care this time last year.”
She revealed the contrast between her private fears and her children’s optimism: “But we were going in to him in intensive care. Inside my head I did fear this was a grim one, but the children didn’t. They were still very hopeful.”
The presenter extended her thoughts to others experiencing similar struggles: “So yeah, it’s a tough one this year and I think anyone who is experiencing grief, it does hit you when you feel something which is full of tradition and you have memories. It comes back.”
She added thoughtfully: “But I’m thinking of everybody else who’s feeling that.”
Singh shared her own experience with grief, telling Garraway: “I always think my dad died in January, when I was young, and I never realised why I found New Year so excruciatingly painful.”
She explained her past struggles: “Like I always wanted to go to bed at 10, I couldn’t bear it. It’s only when I became an adult I realised it’s because my dad died on January 21.”
When asked about her New Year plans, Garraway revealed: “Yeah, I’m not planning anything for New Year.”
She added quietly: “I think it will just be a little moment where we’ll have thoughts. I think we will all go to the grave and have a little bit of time with him.”
Kate Garraway opened up about her first Christmas without Derek on GMB
ITV
Draper died on January 3, 2024, at the age of 56, following a prolonged battle with complications from Covid-19.
The former political adviser had first contracted the virus in March 2020, during the height of lockdown, leading to a series of severe health challenges.
He spent months in a coma after being hospitalised that spring, eventually returning home in April 2021, though requiring full-time care.
In 2022, Draper faced further setbacks, being hospitalised with sepsis, followed by a heart attack in December of that year.
Earlier this year, Garraway won her third consecutive National Television Award in the best authored documentary category for a film chronicling Derek’s final year.
The award followed her previous documentary successes, which had captured both Derek’s Covid battle and her struggles navigating the care system, winning NTAs in 2021 and 2022.
