Good Morning Britain halted as host asks Kate Garraway personal question about Derek
Good Morning Britain presenter Ranvir Singh was forced to put a stop to the ITV show on Christmas Eve as she showed concern for her friend and co-star Kate Garraway
by Monde Mwitumwa, Gemma Jones · The MirrorGood Morning Britain's Ranvir Singh abruptly paused the show on Tuesday (December 24), showing her compassionate side towards co-presenter Kate Garraway. Rather than diving straight into the news segment, she took a moment to check in emotionally with Kate, who faced her first Christmas without her husband Derek Draper.
The touching interlude came as the ITV programme discussed messages about combating loneliness from the Prime Minister and King Charles. Ed Balls introduced the subject saying: "That's a very important message about loneliness."
Seizing the moment, Ranvir showed her support live on-air, asking Kate: "Yeah, can I ask you a question Kate, before I do the news? What erm... How are you feeling? We all think of you and Derek of course. And this time last year he was still with us."
A sombre Kate responded, sharing her struggle: "Yeah, so it's our first Christmas without him. I've been talking to Andi Peters, who lost his mum, and warned me that Christmas is the hardest time."
She added, heartbreakingly: "I think this one will be particularly hard. But I'm lucky that I've got family around me and it's distracting. But I think you do feel grief because that's the point where you have the memories of previous years and you were lucky enough to still have them over the last four or five years, even though they were very ill."
Ranvir gently probed further, "Was he very ill this time last year?" prompting Kate to tearfully reflect: "He was, yes. He was in intensive care this time last year.
"But we were going in to him in intensive care. Inside my head I did fear this was a grim one, but the children didn't. They were still very hopeful."
She added the holiday season's impact on those mourning: "So yeah, it's a tough one this year and I think anyone who is experiencing grief, it does hit you when you feel something which is full of tradition and you have memories. It comes back. But I'm thinking of everybody else who's feeling that."
In an emotional revelation, Ranvir shared her personal struggles with grief during the festive season and warned her friend about how New Year's might affect her, reports the Express. She shared: "I always think my dad died in January, when I was young, and I never realised why I found New Year so excruciatingly painful.
"Like I always wanted to go to bed at 10, I couldn't bear it. It's only when I became an adult I realised it's because my dad died on January 21st."
Acknowledging the tough times ahead, Kate responded: "Derek died in January and I just wondered if New Year is another weird time? Yeah, I'm not planning anything for New Year."
Addressing the way forward she mentioned: "I think it will just be a little moment where we'll have thoughts. I think we will all go to the grave and have a little bit of time with him."
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV and ITVX