Good Morning Britain presenter Kate Garraway has shared an emotional update with her fans, as she admitted that ‘it never gets easier’ when it comes to her family
Kate Garraway has issued an emotional family update, admitting “it never gets easier”.
The Good Morning Britain presenter, who lost her husband Derek Draper at the start of 2024, shared a candid video message with her fans after dropping off one of her kids on their first day of sixth form.
“What is it about kids, they never change do they?” Kate mused as she recorded the video while parked up in her car. “They manage to break your heart in a million different ways.”
The broadcaster, who is mum to Darcey, 18, and son Billy, 16, continued to look back on all the times she had sat in the carpark with Derek for milestone moments like first day of secondary school or GSCE results day.
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Captioning the video, Kate penned: “First day at new school – never gets easier does it & I’m talking about for us parents here ! Have had so many #carpicnics in Vickie Volvo , trying to pretend am not there but still being there ‘just in case’ – gets me every time.
“Good luck to anyone else going through or having first days anywhere – and here’s to a #hometime with a ‘what were you worried about I was never worried’ teen shrug off and a ‘please don’t come tomorrow – don’t need you’ – the rejection we parents know means all is ok!!! Love to everyone and see you in a bit with a brew on @smoothradio @volvocars.”
Myleene Klass was one of the first to comment on Kate’s sweet update, telling her pal: “You’re doing the most amazing job Mama. Infinitely proud of you x.” One of Kate’s fans added: “You are a amazing mum Kate – hope your son has a great day.”
At the start of this year, Kate confronted the Health Secretary about “excessive unpayable” care debts for her husband Derek Draper on the one-year anniversary of his death.
Former lobbyist and political adviser Derek died on January 3 2024 at the age of 56 after suffering long-lasting symptoms from coronavirus.
Kate grilled Wes Streeting about the “recruitment crisis” in the social care sector and “terrible lack of underfunding” when he appeared on the ITV programme on Friday January 3 morning via video call.
It came as the Cabinet minister announced the first steps towards creating a National Care Service, with an independent commission expected to begin in the spring.
The timeline means that proposals for the long-term funding and major reform of social care in England may not be delivered until 2028.
Kate told Wes: “Over the last few weeks, the family and I have been talking about the challenges we faced this time last year. And one of the overriding ones, when he (Derek) went back into intensive care before he passed away, was dealing with the funding of care.
“At the time of his death there were two appeals that hadn’t been heard for funding. It kept on getting pushed back and pushed back. In the meantime, and I’m lucky I’ve got an incredible job which is well paid, I was having to fund the situation.
“Now I’ve got excessive unpayable debt because of it. And if I’m in that position, what else are people going to be?” Kate asked, adding: “People can’t afford four more years of this.”
Wes replied to Kate’s impassioned speech, saying: “Firstly Kate, I know lots of viewers will feel the same, having followed (Derek’s story). Your anniversary that you’re going through – yourself and your family – all of us are with you.”
He added: “I think that’s why your story connected with so many people. It’s not just that you’re a familiar face on people’s screens and your viewers feel they’ve got a relationship with you as a presenter.
“It’s also because your experience with Derek, and your family’s experience resonates with so many people across the country who are struggling with the same costs or the same unmet needs or similar experiences.”
He told Kate and her co-host Adil Ray: “I think one of the reasons why we’ve always ended back into this short-termist cycle of failure is: whenever we talk about social care, there are costs involved. And that sort of makes people run for the hills and want to stick their head in the sand in politics, because sometimes those numbers can be scary.
“One of the reasons I genuinely think – even with the majority of the size that we’ve got – it’s a good thing to try and build cross-party consensus, is, I want to come up with a plan that means whoever’s in government after the next general election or the one after that, whether it’s a Labour government or a Conservative government or a coalition, or whoever, that broadly speaking, we keep the same direction of travel on social care in the way that we have with the NHS since 1948.”
Derek fell seriously ill with Covid-19 in March 2020 and spent 13 months in hospital before he was discharged. Despite being free of the virus, he had suffered long-lasting damage to his organs and required daily care up until his death.
In 2021, Kate won a prize at the National Television Awards (NTAs) for the documentary Finding Derek, about her family’s experience during the pandemic that detailed her husband’s treatment and his subsequent return to their family home.
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