Kate Garraway 'keeping busy' and is yet to 'stop and deal' with Derek's death

Kate Garraway has opened up about her ongoing grief journey, focusing on her children as she navigates life after the loss of her husband, Derek Draper.

The Good Morning Britain presenter, 57, has been candid about the challenges following Derek's death in January. The former political lobbyist, from Chorley, had faced a prolonged health battle after contracting Covid in 2020, which was documented in the poignant film, Derek's Story.

Their children, Darcey, 18, and Billy, 14, played supportive roles during his illness and Darcey even took on the role of pallbearer at his funeral. After briefly returning to work post-funeral, Kate has found herself occasionally stepping back from her TV duties.

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In a heartfelt discussion with The Mirror, she expressed her anticipation for the upcoming Prince's Trust Awards, marking one of her first public engagements since Derek's passing.

"I'm very excited. It's going to be a beautiful event, it always is. Everybody here is amazing," she said. "I'm only at the beginning of grief really.

"I'm just three months in so there are many ups and downs to come. At the moment it's about focusing on the youngsters, Billy and Darcy and focusing on doing things like this when I can that I haven't been able to do.

"And at the moment it's all about keeping busy. I'm sure there will be a moment where I have to stop and deal with it.

"But at the moment I'm just keeping busy. Help is there.

"You just have to ask for it. And sometimes you have to ask for it time and time again.

"And hopefully, organisations like the Prince's Trust which is particularly good at identifying people, will be there to scoop you up."

She went on to explain the importance of having people around you, explaining: "Community is everything, whether it's friends or colleagues, or your neighbours down your street. It keeps us going.

"It's the structure that carries us through life." Kate previously opened up about her financial struggles after caring for Derek.

The GMB presenter shared that she had withdrawn money from her pension earlier than planned in a bid to cover the mounting costs.

Kate admitted: "I have had to withdraw the bit you can tax-free from my pension to pay for belated bills for my husband, who has now passed away. People are having to do things - it wasn't a huge pension in the first place - which aren't what they saved for."