kate garraway in striped cardigan on this morning © Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock

Kate Garraway in tears over emotional tribute to late husband Derek

The Good Morning Britain host's husband Derek passed away in January

Commerce Writer
May 18, 2024

Kate Garraway revealed that she "burst into tears" after receiving a touching gift in tribute to her late husband Derek Draper on Friday. 

The ITV presenter celebrated her 57th birthday earlier this month, the first since her husband Derek's death, who passed away in January after a devastating battle with long Covid. 

kate garraway instagram wearing embroidered collar © Kate Garraway
Kate shared a photo of herself wearing the embroidered collar

Kate shared the gift she received from Good Morning Britain makeup artist Lisa Mejuto, a collar that had been embroidered with Derek's initials, along with the initials of their two children, Darcey, 18, and Billy, 14.

It wasn't the only gift she received from her colleagues, as Kate revealed that her co-host Susanna Reid left chocolates and flowers on her doorstep, along with a goodie basket from the GMB crew. 

Kate Garraway marks first birthday since husband's death

The mother-of-two took to Instagram to post photos with her new gifts, with the caption: "The next are three fabulous total surprises - gorgeous chocolates & flowers from @susannareid100, a basket of goodies from the @gmb gang, a fabulous wrap dress literally left on my doorstep as she 'thought I might need cheering up' by my mate @toniabuxton."

"And the last is the most personal & kind embroidered collar- you know how I love my crazy collars! - from @lisamejuto. Lisa is a makeup artist at @gmb & she’s gorgeous to everyone & fab at her job & we’ve laughed our heads off together over the years. But today when she gave me this out of the blue at 4 in the morning I burst into tears."

She continued: "The hard work & effort - carefully hand sewing symbols that she knows mean so much - including Darcey, Bill & Derek’s initials, shows so much painstaking love. The picture really doesn’t do it justice. Am now lying in bed feeling like the luckiest person in the world to have so many good people around me. #love #faithrestored #hope."

Kate has previously shared her appreciation for the support of her colleagues during tough times. After being recognised for her contribution to broadcasting at the Variety Club Showbusiness Awards last month, the star paid tribute to Ben Shephard and her other co-stars, admitting they had helped her to "survive".

© Richard Young/Shutterstock
Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway at The Variety Club Showbusiness Awards, The Londoner Hotel, London, UK - 28 April 2024

It's not just her GMB colleagues that Kate has a close bond with. To mark her birthday, she also showed a glimpse of her celebrations with her Smooth Radio colleagues, sharing a snippet of herself opening her gifts, after also marking her 10th anniversary at the radio station.

More Celebrity News

See more