Kate Garraway hits back at cruel trolls who said she shouldn't laugh

What did you miss?

Kate Garraway has a message for the trolls who criticised her for laughing on Good Morning Britain as she returned to work just days after her late husband Derek Draper's funeral.

The mum-of-two, 56, was reunited with her good friend and co-presenter Ben Shephard on TV on Thursday.

Despite some cruel messages, Garraway has met mostly with an outpouring of love for her. The presenters read out lovely messages on Thursday including one viewer saying it was "great to see Kate back with her sidekick Ben".

Returning again on Friday, the star then revealed she had received "a bit of flack" on social media for having fun. The presenter said the comments seemed to imply she didn't care but that couldn't be further from the truth.

What, how and why?

But Garraway didn't let the mean comments get her down as she celebrated the importance of sharing joy and laughter.

She told viewers: "I got a bit of flack on social media yesterday for laughing with you as though that would imply I didn't care. But when you laughing you're laughing because you want the joy that person brought to continue.

"And you know that people watching at home have got troubles in their life and you want to share that joy with them. So it's a licence to laugh and to cry and to be all things."

Her friend and co-presenter Shephard jested it was important Garraway laughed at his jokes. He said: "You always need to be encouraged to laugh when I make a joke."

His cheeky joke made Garraway laugh again. She said: "I have to laugh."

What else happened on Good Morning Britain?

Their sweet exchange came as they spoke to Larry Lamb who joined the show to discuss the death of his brother in 2019. The actor was speaking on TV about his experiences with grief ahead of the National Day of Reflection.

Garraway openly shared her own experiences of grief. She said: "Reflection and the importance of it. Of course I'm in a different place to talk about it now... I'm only at the first stages and there are so many different stages of it all."

Lamb looked back on the heartache of losing his brother Wes to cancer in 2019. He said: "My brother Wes would have been quite amused had he known, slipped away before it all kicked off. He was very, very brave about it.

"He made sure no one was feeling bad for him. He wanted everyone to have a laugh and a joke with him as best as they could. We had a terrible time before us, drifting apart. I was able to be there with him. They even rigged up a bed for me at the hospice. We hadn't slept together in a room for 16 years!"

Read more

• Kate Garraway’s heartbreaking reaction to being called a widow for the first time

• Kate Garraway reveals daughter’s brave last words to Derek Draper

• Kate Garraway supported by kids and Elton John at Derek Draper's funeral

• Derek Draper's friends share emotional tributes as Kate Garraway announces husband's death at 56

• Kate Garraway’s touching conversation with her daughter after Derek Draper’s death