Kate Garraway on coming to terms with not being able to have another baby and the mistake of channelling her inner Piers Morgan

KATE Garraway is a refreshingly rare breed of celebrity.

From the minute the Good Morning Britain presenter and journalist steps into the studios, she’s delightfully candid and wickedly funny.

Despite not being on GMB that morning, Kate’s been up since 5am (and usually survives on four hours’ sleep), but that doesn’t stop her repeatedly leaping through the air in front of the camera – her enthusiasm not even fading by the 27th attempt.

So it’s impossible to believe that, in just over a month, she turns 50.

“I don’t take myself seriously, because I’m obviously ludicrous,” she laughs.

“How could you?”

This self-deprecating humour is just one of Kate’s many endearing qualities, and has helped her to become one of the UK’s most successful and long-lasting breakfast TV presenters.

From flashing her Spanx (blame co-host Ben Shephard), to suffering make-up mishaps during a link from Washington DC ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration, she’s experienced a variety of on-air embarrassments.

It’s no wonder then that Kate says Renée Zellweger watched footage of her on GMTV to prepare for when Bridget Jones landed a job in breakfast TV.

Along the way, of course, she’s also interviewed every Prime Minister since Margaret Thatcher, as well as a slew of Hollywood A-listers, including Johnny Depp and Meryl Streep.

“Do you think [I’ve been successful]?” she replies with a bemused expression.

“I suppose so…”

We certainly think so, as she’s managed to navigate – and survive – nearly 20 years of breakfast TV and the accompanying fierce ratings wars.

Kate is also very skilled at juggling family life with her 2.15am starts, so she can spend two hours reading through her briefs before arriving at the GMB studios.

Married to former Labour spin doctor turned psychotherapist Derek Draper, 49, the couple have two children Darcey, 11, and Billy, seven.

One benefit of those early mornings means Kate has finished work by 1pm (including a daily show at Smooth Radio) and can pick up the kids from school.

“There’s something extraordinary about them turning into little people. Although Billy said the other day that he wanted to be put on the green list at school – where the children are allowed to walk down to reception, instead of being collected from the classroom.

“That was my favourite time of day, but now he wants to walk down with his friends. I’m a bit heartbroken. Derek told me: ‘Be brave! He’s growing up and trying to be big and responsible.’

“Even though I say one of the great joys is watching them grow into little people, I would also like to put them back into nappies! Nobody loves a baby more than me and I would happily have had about 10 of them.”

It’s clearly a role Kate relishes but also one that started late in life.

Her first four-year marriage to Ian Rumsey, her former boss at ITV Meridian, ended in 2002.

After her divorce, Kate admits she battled with low self-confidence and found comfort from going to therapy.

“It wasn’t just [because of the] divorce,” she says softly.

“Generally in relationships, I had always been finished with. I think that if you’re constantly being finished with, then you do consciously
think on some level that you’re unlovable.”

Eventually, she got back on the dating scene, including a fling with a musician 10 years younger who’s “now very successful”, who she won’t name.

She met Derek in 2004 after being set up by former GMTV reporter turned Labour MP Gloria De Piero.

They married the following year and Darcey arrived in March 2006, when Kate was 38, with Billy following in July 2009, when she was 42.

Kate opened up a few years ago about her desire to still have a third baby and feeling “robbed” when it hadn’t happened.

But today the host admits she’s now at peace, after accepting that her family won’t be expanding.

“I’ve hugely come to terms with not having another baby. I would hate Darcey and Billy to think that somehow they weren’t enough.

“I think there’s just a twinge... Somebody brought a baby into work the other day and I was like: ‘Oh my god, that smell, it’s so lovely!’ I’m not sure that ever goes.

“I’m nearly 50, so there has to be a reality check. I loved having children and started relatively late. I would have loved more, but I know that’s extremely greedy. I’m very lucky to have had children – considering my age – with relative ease, compared with what some people go through.”

A recent house move saw Kate finally throw out the cot and baby car seat. But there’s one item that the star still can’t face parting with.

“I haven’t given away the pram. Do you think I need to give that away on my 50th birthday?” she laughs.

“I keep arguing with Derek that I’ll keep it for the grandchildren.”

But Kate is adamant she wouldn’t change a thing.

“It’s [all about] meeting the right person and being in the right place. Life takes you on a journey. If I had children younger I’d definitely have a house full of them, so maybe it’s a good thing. Maybe it’s safer for us all, as I’d be featured on one of those items on GMB!

“You make the choices you do as you go along, but I can honestly say that I wouldn’t go back and not do things again, because that’s like rewriting your life.

“Whatever your age, parents generally embarrass their children. I think that’s a role we have to play. There are pros and cons [to being a more mature parent]. I suppose if you’re younger, then there might be things that you wish you were doing and you’re torn between that.”

When it comes to her career, Kate also shouldn’t have any regrets.
She started out in television in 1994 at ITV News Central, before getting her big break in 1998 after joining Sky News’ Sunrise.

“It’s amazing to think that I’ve been in people’s bedrooms and kitchens all that time,” she says.

“I would never have imagined it when I started out in the world of breakfast. It’s lovely and a real honour.

“When you look at how many people you’ve interviewed, and the sort of stories you’ve covered, it’s amazing to have been at such a lot of events.”

She spent a decade on GMTV from 2000, before surviving the cull when its successor Daybreak launched with huge fanfare in 2010.

After being given the admittedly smaller role of entertainment editor on the ITV replacement, with Christine Bleakley and Adrian Chiles fronting the programme, she doggedly persevered and made the best of it.

It certainly paid off, as when the show (and its presenters) tanked in the ratings, Kate was given a main seat on the sofa for over six months, before Lorraine Kelly and Aled Jones took over as hosts when the show relaunched in September 2012, with Kate presenting the show every Friday.

However, when Daybreak was axed and replaced by GMB in 2014, Kate was back at the forefront of breakfast telly, alongside Susanna Reid and Ben Shephard, and later Piers Morgan.

“I think that’s one of the very attractive things about breakfast TV. There’s a cliché that you’re interviewing the Prime Minister one minute
and Take That the next,” she laughs.

“But it’s actually true!

“I take the job quite seriously. I’m a copious note taker and I always read my briefs. I feel like the day you don’t will be the day you get caught out.”

However, there is one aspect of Kate’s work life that’s changed for the better.

During her time at GMTV she found herself pitted against her female rivals, and at the centre of the so-called “sofa wars”.

Fast-forward a decade and Kate is relishing not having to defend herself against non-existent rivalries at GMB with her new counterpart Susanna.

“I would say that’s one of the loveliest things about this current era. I can remember back at GMTV there were constant stories about sofa wars. It would be Fiona Phillips versus me, me versus Penny Smith, Penny versus Fiona with Lorraine Kelly chucked into the mix occasionally.

“We used to say that no one would be happy unless we were mud wrestling. I don’t feel like it’s the same now. I haven’t seen any of the women being pitched against each other, which is really nice. It’s such a team now.”

Kate believes this is a sign that times are finally changing and that GMB has been at the forefront of paving the way.

“People are more used to seeing women working together – you have Strictly hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. So when Susanna and
I present together, people are more used to seeing that now.

“On GMTV I never presented the show with Fiona or Penny – it was always with a man. GMB has done that for the first time. It’s great they do
it and people love it. It was a good eight or nine months [presenting with Susanna earlier this year and last year] and a really nice experience.”

In fact, they’re now such a tight-knit sofa family, that Kate has declared she and Susanna, 46, are like “sisters”.

“Neither of us have sisters, so we say that’s what it must be like when we’re swapping clothes. Susanna says: ‘Wear these shoes or take this dress.’

“She’s lovely. She hasn’t got an edge and I find it very comfortable working alongside her. There’s a lot to learn from Susanna.”

Kate also admits she took pointers from one of her more-Marmite colleagues.

Former newspaper editor Piers, 51, joined the show in 2015 and has been a source of controversy ever since.

Last year, during an interview with Nicola Sturgeon, Kate channelled her inner Piers – becoming stern when it seemed like Scotland’s First Minister was avoiding the question.

“If you watch Piers operate, it’s very exhilarating,” she explains.

“It’s important to keep learning, so I thought: ‘Yeah I’ll give that a go.’ But afterwards Ben was like: ‘Why don’t you just be 100% Kate Garraway
and leave Piers to be 100% Piers Morgan?’”

Something that Kate also isn’t, ahem, faking, is the renaissance in her sex life after 11 years of marriage.

As revealed in her debut book The Joy of Big Knickers (Or Learning To Love The Rest of Your Life), she and her husband undertook a 14-Day Sex Challenge.

They were supposed to get intimate every day for two weeks, but quit after eight days, when Derek slipped on wet leaves and broke his foot.

“I think he’s surprised at the degree to which it’s caught people’s imagination! I’ve had loads of people coming up to me at work – some of them famous – saying: ‘I’m going to try your challenge.’ Derek went: ‘People are saying it’s my sex challenge!’ I was like: ‘Yes, it’s brilliant, darling. Think of the joy you’re spreading to the nation.’”

So what did it teach them?

“If you’ve been with someone for a long time, it puts romance right back at the heart of your relationship. I’m not saying sex wasn’t part of our relationship, but it makes you realise,” she says.

Playful challenges aside, Kate is certain of one thing that has cemented her relationship with Derek for the better.

“Your relationship changes and goes through different phases, but I don’t think it’s affected by children. It’s only improved by children and brings you closer together. You have a shared joy.”

Sofa wars, tricky interviews, Spanx-flashing and being a working mum – over the years Kate has owned them all.

As she leaves, she flashes her mega-watt smile, knowing that there’s a lot more fun still to come.

If you enjoyed this interview, find out what GMB co-host Susanna Reid had to say about her divorce, co-parenting and what she REALLY thinks about Piers Morgan.
Kate’s Kite & Cosmic clothing collection, supporting I Can, is available at M&Co stores and now.