Kate Garraway says it’s her ‘dream’ to visit husband Derek Draper on Christmas Day – but it means isolating
KATE Garraway 'dreams' of seeing her husband Derek Draper on Christmas Day, but that means staying "really safe" beforehand.
The Good Morning Britain presenter, 53, opened up on the show today about how hard it will be to have Christmas at home without her husband who remains in a serious condition with the coronavirus.
She told her co-host Ben Shepherd about the logistical nightmare of trying to have a nice family Christmas, while also respecting government guidelines.
"I'm finding it really challenging and I know you at home are as well. I find it really tricky," Kate said this morning.
"I know it's a slightly unique position I'm in but it's also not because lots of people have got loved ones who are vulnerable, who are sick, either with COVID or with other things."
She added: "Obviously my dream is for the children and I to see Derek on Christmas Day in some way. The challenges of that are we have to stay really safe in order to visit him and isolate.
"There's also a question of, if we're doing that can we have my mum and dad there?"
Kate really wants to avoid "if possible" spending Christmas with just her and children Darcey, 14, and Billy, 11.
"I think that would make Derek's absence feel huge and the rest of the family's absence feel huge but it's quite a difficult balance to work it all out," she explained.
Kate also revealed the family had a coronavirus scare and having to self-isolate was the reason she hadn't been seen on the show in a couple of weeks.
She said: "It's lovely to be back, I'm sorry I've been absent for a couple of weeks now.
"Well, a few challenges kicking off, challenges with Derek as there always are.
"So we had outside of Derek a little bit of a scare. In the sense that, we found out the children had come into contact with somebody who after they came into contact with them, tested positive for coronavirus - isn't seriously ill.
"It's happening a lot because of schools, so just to be ultra, ultra, ultra cautious, kept them at home, kept me at home until we got negative tests.
"We got two negative tests actually, because you know me, more is more. So all three of us had negative tests, mercifully."
However, this was added stress for Kate as her husband - and father to the kids - Derek is still in intensive care following his coronavirus infection in March.
She continued: "I did think, 'oh my goodness, this is going to be very difficult, obviously horrific if any of us get sick'. And I've had it. I had it when Derek got sick."
Former political lobbyist Derek, 53, was placed in an induced coma after being admitted to hospital, and Kate has spoken frequently about how much she and their children Darcey and Billy miss him.