Kate Garraway thanked viewers for their support on Friday’s Good Morning Britain, announcing she would be taking some time off in the coming weeks.
Both Kate and her co-presenter Ben Shephard confirmed they will be absent from the GMB studios over the Christmas break, enjoying a well-deserved break with their families.
The announcement came at the end of the show, as Kate and Ben passed the torch over to presenter Lorraine Kelly.
Thanking viewers for all of their support throughout the year, which was dominated by the tragedy of the coronavirus pandemic, Kate and Ben said goodbye for now.
Turning to his co-star, Ben said: “We’re off for Christmas, aren’t we?”
Kate replied: “We’re off for Christmas.
Kate and Ben confirmed they would not be appearing on GMB during the winter break (Image: ITV)
“Now, thank you so much to all of you for the support you’ve given me, and for the support you’ve given to Ben to give me.
“It’s helped us both through.”
Kate and Ben are expected to return to their presenting duties in the ITV studios in early January when the winter festivities have wrapped.
It has been a turbulent year for Kate, with the hospitalisation of her beloved husband Derek Draper back in March, after he contracted coronavirus.
The former political lobbyist woke up from his induced coma in July, though he remains in hospital in a state of “minimum consciousness” in hospital.
Kate and Derek share two children together – Darcey, 14, and little Billy, 11 (Image: Daily Star, Daily Mirror, Daily Express)
With the support of her colleagues, Kate made the decision to return to work that same month, explaining Derek would have wanted her to return for the sake of their children.
She told her GMB co-stars at the time: “Derek would not just be saying come back, he’d be saying, ‘why haven’t you done it before? ‘As he got into the ambulance he said, ‘Go inside and make them feel safe, because they’re going to be panicking about this.’
“That would be his priority. My job is to make him feel safe and make them feel that they have a future and a world and whatever happens with Derek – we hope and believe he can come back to us – but whatever happens, they have to feel they have a world.”
She finished: “To see me getting on, they’re going to go back to school in September.”
Since her return, Kate has bravely spoken on behalf of those affected by the Covid pandemic, sharing updates on Derek’s condition and inspiring viewers nationwide.
Marking her remarkable achievement on the breakfast show, Thursday evening saw the mum-of-two named Hello’s Inspiration of the Year award at Good Morning Britain’s 1 Million Minutes Awards.
Good Morning Britain airs on weekdays at 6am on ITV.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
