Kate Garraway has revealed her two children finally got to visit their father Derek in hospital after 10 months recovering from COVID-19.
The presenter, 53, admitted the family reunion was ‘heightened with emotion’ as her daughter Darcey, 14, and son Billy, 11, saw how Derek was ‘very changed’ by his battle with the virus, after spending a ‘tough’ Christmas without him.
Kate also revealed that due to the government’s new lockdown she’s now banned from visiting her husband, saying she hopes it won’t continue as her absence could be ‘very impactful’ on Derek’s slow recovery.
Speaking on Thursday’s Good Morning Britain, Kate reflecting on her first Christmas without Derek, telling Ben Shephard: ‘It was tough. I knew it was going to be tough. ‘There was a lovely moment which we did have.
At last: Kate Garraway has revealed her two children finally got to visit their father Derek in hospital after 10 months recovering from COVID-19
‘We did get to see Derek and the children did, which is the first time they’ve been able to do that. So that was amazing.’
Kate admitted it came as a shock to her two children seeing Derek for the first time almost 10 months, as he looked very different to when he was first admitted.
She continued: ‘It was very heightened with emotion, because he’s very changed.
‘So all the routines that we’d normally do, it was one of those moments that it was so wonderful but also it amplified how sad everything was. And how different it is.
‘But it was still fantastic, and we’re very grateful to have had that opportunity.’
Difficult: The presenter admitted the reunion was ‘heightened with emotion’ as her daughter Darcey, 14, and son Billy, 11, saw how Derek was ‘very changed’ by his battle with the virus
Kate went onto reveal she’s now unable to see Derek due to new restrictions introduced during the third lockdown, which bans any visitors on the COVID-19 ward where he is recovering.
She told Ben: ‘And then instantly, now I’m in a position where even I can’t visit.
‘We’re into lockdown so no visits at all, which I hope doesn’t continue for the whole of lockdown, because I think that will be very impactful on Derek’s state.’
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.
On New Year’s Eve Kate admitted she had a ‘calamitous’ Christmas without her husband during which her house was 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.’
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.
‘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. 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.
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.
Tricky: The star said she wanted to avoid ‘if possible’ having Christmas day with just herself, daughter Darcey, 14, and Billy, 11, adding: ‘I think that would make Derek’s absence feel huge’ (pictured December 2019)
The star also admitted she felt ‘physically sick’ at the prospect of spending her first Christmas without Derek since their eldest daughter Darcey was born.
‘I feel physically sick actually and can feel my chest tightening at the thought of it,’ Kate said.
‘I’m in total panic about the idea of me, Darcey and Billy on our own this Christmas unable to visit Derek because of potential restrictions.
‘That huge emotional hole, and I don’t know how to fill it, without grandparents and without friends helping to fill it.
‘It feels like such a significant moment as all festivals are. I do feel in a panic about it, but we’re in this situation because of the spread of a disease that at the moment doesn’t have a cure.’