Good Morning Britain's Kate Garraway supported on first birthday since Derek's death

Good Morning Britain's Kate Garraway celebrated a bittersweet birthday over the weekend without her late husband.

The ITV star turned 57 on Saturday, May 4, marking her first birthday since the death of her beloved husband and father of her two children, Derek Draper. The former political lobbyist died at the age of 56 earlier this year after a nearly four-year battle with Covid-19.

Kate expressed gratitude to "all of you who have so generously given our family so much support" as she shared the sad news of Derek's passing in January. Almost five months later, Kate admitted to fans that she was battling mixed emotions on her first birthday without Derek, confessing that she was tempted to "cry all day", reports the Mirror.

READ MORE: Foreign Office issues fresh warning to anyone visiting Turkey

READ MORE: Met Office issues yellow thunderstorm warning for parts of Merseyside

Capturing the moment on Instagram, Kate shared a heartwarming video from her birthday celebrations surrounded by friends and family. She captioned the post: "Well yesterday was another one of those sad 1st's - my first birthday since Derek's passing.

"Woke up feeling so sad and thought well I can either cry all day or celebrate life as he did so well. And thanks to wonderful friends it worked! See you on @gmb tomorrow from 6 - happy bank holiday weekend everyone!".

Kate celebrated her birthday amidst heartfelt wishes from fans on social media and her colleagues at Smooth, where she enjoyed a party in the studio ahead of the weekend marking a decade with the team. Among those extending birthday tributes to the beloved broadcaster was This Morning presenter Ben Shephard, who made sure Kate knew she was cherished on her special day.

Social media overflowed with birthday love for Kate, with fans and friends alike sharing their best wishes. Significant among them was her former co-host Ben, who had moved to This Morning from ITV's morning show earlier in February.

In a sweet photo, Kate is seen wearing hair rollers and a black gown, clearly preparing for the show. The playful caption reads "Not another birthday [Kate]." Susanna Reid, Kate's current co-host, also joined in the birthday celebrations.

She posted a picture of the pair with the caption, "Happy birthday to my gorgeous friend [Kate]" and ended her message with a fun reference to Star Wars Day, celebrated annually on May 4, using the hashtag #maythe4thbewithyou.

Susanna wasn't the only member of the Good Morning Britain team to send birthday wishes to Kate. Weather presenter Laura Tobin, 42, used social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to express her best wishes

She wrote: "Happy Birthday [Kate]. So happy I could share a drink with you earlier this week and toast to your Variety Club Award #Proud."

Receive newsletters with the biggest and breaking TV and showbiz news by signing up here