GMB star says Kate Garraway is in 'constant pain' as she faces 'way forward' without Derek
GMB's Charlotte Hawkins has opened up on the 'extraordinarily tough time' her ITV co-star Kate Garraway has faced since the death of her husband Derek Draper.
Good Morning Britain's Charlotte Hawkins has opened up about the "tight-knit" GMB team's support for colleague Kate Garraway following the tragic death of her husband, Derek Draper, from long Covid complications at the age of 56.
Speaking to Best Magazine, Charlotte revealed: "When Kate lost her husband, Derek, in January, everyone pulled together to support her. She's been through an extraordinarily tough time."
Drawing on her personal experience of grief, Charlotte empathised with Kate's situation: "When you lose someone that you love very much, it's constant pain.
"You wonder what the way forward will be it's not a question of getting over it, but learning to live with it."
Charlotte expressed her deep admiration for Kate's strength amidst such a devastating loss and reassured: "It's going to take time for Kate to heal, but she knows we're all here for her."
Derek Draper, who had shifted his career from politics to psychotherapy, was first hospitalised with Covid-19 in March 2020 and died earlier this year after a prolonged battle with the illness and extensive care.
His funeral saw a gathering of friends and colleagues from both the political and television spheres, including former PM Sir Tony Blair, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, and GMB's own Susanna Reid, Richard Madeley, and Ben Shephard.
In the same interview, Charlotte joked about Ben Shephard's recent switch from GMB to This Morning, playfully complaining that it has left her "absolutely furious."
However, she's thrilled that Ben's exit has resulted in an all-female lineup for Good Moring Britain "I love that," she says.
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Charlotte, a still-youthful 49, has a young daughter of her own. Her daughter Ella Rose was born in 2015, shortly after the death of Charlotte's father: "I didn't want her to feel my sadness," she remembers, "so I tried to embrace the amazing joy when she was born."
Ella Rose has always received Christmas gifts from her late Grandad Frank, thoughtfully arranged by her mother: "We talk about him and, in a sense, he's just 'Grandad who we haven't seen for a while'."
Charlotte reveals that Ella Rose, who is nearly 10, is interested in following in her mother's footsteps into journalism: "When she was seven, she interviewed George Ezra live on GMB. She did brilliantly, but now she asks who's on the show and if she can come to the studio.
"She'll have my job before I know it," Charlotte laughs.