Kate Garraway was seen brushing off her ‘calamitous’ Christmas without husband Derek Draper as she headed back to work at Smooth Radio.
The presenter, 53, had a pretty rough ride over the holidays as it was her first without Derek, who is still in hospital after contracting coronavirus in March, and she was forced to face a number of challenges too, including her home flooding.
Still, determined to put 2020 behind her, Kate was seen confidently heading back to work and starting afresh as she stepped out in London.
She masked up as she made her way into the Global Radio Studios ahead of going live on-air while wearing a velvet red dress, tailored coat and boots.
Kate gave a wave on her arrival before settling in to entertain listeners with her choice of relaxing hits on her usual weekday show.
She was seen looking a little too excited to be back in the studio, with Smooth Radio posting a funny picture of Kate to Instagram to mark her return and captioning it: ‘How a lot of people felt when their alarm went off this morning… 😂.’
Kate has had a difficult year following Derek’s hospitalisation and was forced to spend Christmas without him, as his body continues to battle complications from Covid-19.
Derek is now free of the virus, after first catching it in March and later being placed into a medically induced coma.
He spoke for the first time in 200 days in November and Kate has continuously kept fans updated with his condition – admitting that she felt ‘physically sick’ at having to be without Derek over the Christmas period.
Kate, who shares two children with Derek, Darcey, 14, and William, 11, then revealed that her Christmas was filled with nothing but added stress, as she suffered technical glitches with her Wi-Fi and two pipes in her home burst.
Filling fans in on the drama, Kate wrote: ‘Well here we are folks – #newyearseve – the last day of a year few will be sorry to see the back of. Have been quiet for a while – getting through Christmas has been a challenge hasn’t it with all the emotions it stirs in our strange world & no where really to put them – except in hope.
‘And there is still so much real hope out there. Not just in the extraordinary health care workers & researchers who definitely hold a bright light for the future. But in all the little kindnesses. We had a calamitous few days in the run up to Christmas – but we got through thanks to some wonderful people.
‘The guys from @bondconstruction who literally got on their hands & knees with me to bucket out water after we had 2 pipe leaks that flooded our home. @emmawillisofficial & @marksandspencer who made sure we had #gorgeousfood for our Christmas dinner when I couldn’t get a delivery slot anywhere & the guys from @britishgas who spent hours on the phone helping me to get a fridge & freezer to put the food in.’
She continued: ‘The guys from @skyhelp who talked me through getting our WiFi & tv working on Xmas eve. Your kindness & spirit is overwhelming . And all @itv & @global for their constant support. Sending love & virtual hugs to all of you who have sent messages – spreading the love is what will give us all a truly happy new year. 💕💕💕💕💕’
On Christmas Day, during a pre-recorded Good Morning Britain broadcast, Piers was seen reaching out to Kate.
‘We’re particularly thinking of our colleague Kate, of course, who won’t be with Derek this Christmas. It was always a special time, we know, for the family and our hearts go out to Kate and the kids today,’ he told viewers.
‘It will be a very different Christmas for them, obviously and we continue to hope and pray that Derek comes through what’s been a tremendously difficult ordeal for him, obviously, and for his family.’
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