She’s shown an incredible amount of strength amid a horrendous time which has seen her husband Derek remain in hospital for almost ten months after he contracted Covid.
And Kate Garraway continued to manage to raise a smile as she returned to her Smooth radio show in London on Monday.
The outing comes after the broadcaster, 53, admitted she had a ‘calamitous’ Christmas without her husband during which her house was flooded.
Strong: Kate Garraway continued to smile as she returned to her Smooth FM radio show following a ‘calamitous’ Christmas without husband Derek during which her house flooded
Wearing a face mask as she walked towards the studios after the festive break, Kate slipped it off for a second to smile at photographers from a safe distance.
She was wrapped up against the cold wearing a camel coloured coat with a long skirt and leopard print scarf.
Writing alongside a photo of her Christmas tree in an Instagram post last Thursday, the mother-of-two explained that two pipe leaks led to her London home being flooded.
Wishing her followers a Happy New Year, Kate wrote on it was ‘the last day of a year few will be sorry to see the back of’.
Cosy: Wearing a face mask as she walked towards the studios after the festive break, Kate was wrapped up against the cold in a long camel coat
Praying for him: The broadcaster is hoping to see more improvements in the health of her husband as he continues to battle his illness in hospital
Explaining her absence from social media, she continued: ‘Have been quiet for a while – getting through Christmas has been a challenge hasn’t it with all the emotions it stirs in our strange world & no where really to put them – except in hope.’
‘And there is still so much real hope out there. Not just in the extraordinary health care workers & researchers who definitely hold a bright light for the future. But in all the little kindnesses.’
‘We had a calamitous few days in the run up to Christmas – but we got through thanks to some wonderful people,’ she explained.
Kate went on to thank those who had helped her and her two children Darcey, 14, and Billy, 11.
‘Calamitous’: Kate recently took to social media to detail her difficult Christmas, her first without husband Derek Draper who is continuing his recovery from Covid-19 in hospital
Not very festive: Writing alongside a photo of her Christmas tree in an Instagram post, the mother of two wrote that her two pipe leaks led to her home being flooded
‘The guys from @bondconstruction who literally got on their hands & knees with me to bucket out water after we had 2 pipe leaks that flooded our home,’ she wrote.
Kate also thanked fellow TV presenter and friend Emma Willis and Marks and Spencer ‘who made sure we had #gorgeousfood for our Christmas dinner when I couldn’t get a delivery slot anywhere & the guys from @britishgas who spent hours on the phone helping me to get a fridge & freezer to put the food in.’
After previously revealing her WiFi had broken in the run up to Christmas, Kate wrote that Sky had finally helped her fix the problem.
‘The guys from @skyhelp who talked me through getting our WiFi & tv working on Xmas eve.’
Hospitalised: Derek, 53, was originally admitted to hospital with COVID-19 symptoms in March and remains seriously ill (pictured in December 2019)
‘Your kindness & spirit is overwhelming . And all @itv & @global for their constant support.
‘Sending love & virtual hugs to all of you who have sent messages – spreading the love is what will give us all a truly happy new year,’ the star ended her reflective post.
Derek remains in critical condition but has made minor improvements since he was first admitted to hospital in March. He managed to utter the word ‘pain’ in October, which marked the first time he had spoken following his medical coma.
While Derek continues to recover away from home, Kate said she has been trying to be ‘both mum and dad’ to their two children Darcey, 14, and Billy, 11.
The family had been unable to visit Derek in hospital due to coronavirus restrictions, but the mother-of-two previously said that nurses kindly allowed her to FaceTime him.
Family: Shortly before Christmas Kate emotionally said that she is trying to be both ‘mum and dad’ for her two children amid her husband Derek’s coronavirus battle (pictured with Derek and children Darcey, 14, and Billy, 11, in December 2019)
Kate previously expressed her hopes of forming a bubble with Derek and the family over Christmas, but the new Tier 4 precautions in London may have delayed any close contact with her husband once more.
The Good Morning Britain presenter was awarded Inspiration Of The Year at the virtual HELLO! Star Women Awards, where she spoke about her difficult 2020.
Speaking in an emotional acceptance speech via video, Kate said that the past few months has brought her ‘closer’ with her two children and she is trying to make sure there is ‘enough laughter’ in their life during the ‘sad’ time.
Talking about her plans for Christmas, Kate emotionally said: ‘If you’ve lost someone due to COVID or lost someone for whatever reason, I think Christmas is very tough.
‘So I’m lucky that Derek is still with us and we still have hope for next year but it is hard to know how to plan because we have very specific traditions.
Tricky: The star said she wanted to avoid ‘if possible’ having Christmas day with just herself, and the children adding: ‘I think that would make Derek’s absence feel huge’ (pictured December 2019)
‘We’d always go to Derek’s parents’ on Christmas Eve and we’d go to church. I don’t think any of that’s possible because we need to stay close to Derek in the hospital.’
Kate said that she is trying to form new traditions with her two children and that her GMB co-host Ben Shephard has sweetly offered to help over the festive period.
She continued: ‘So I’ve been talking to the children about forming new traditions and I think we’re going to have a Christmas season, so we’ve already watched Nativity. Key moment.
‘We do have a ten-foot high inflatable Santa, obviously, and a ten foot high inflatable penguin.
‘You can imagine how delighted the neighbours are when that goes up – I think Ben Shephard’s offered to come and help.’