Kate Garraway’s Good Morning Britain colleague Ben Shephard says it’s ‘lovely’ to see her smile

Ben Shephard admitted it was ‘lovely’ to see his colleague and friend Kate Garraway smile in her latest Clap for Carers video.

Kate posted a video on Thursday evening as she joined the weekly round of applause with her two children Darcey and Billy, and gave her followers an update on her husband Derek, who has been battling coronavirus in hospital for two months.

Ben shared Kate’s video on Friday’s Good Morning Britain, as he and co-presenter Charlotte Hawkins admitted they were happy to see their colleague in good spirits in the footage. 

‘It’s nice to see that see that she had a little smile on her face,’ Charlotte said after they watched Kate and her children banging pots and pans on their street.

‘Everyone has got their fingers crossed, everyone is sending them so much love, they’re all in our thoughts and prayers at the moment and keeping everything crossed that Derek will pull through and everything will be OK.’

Ben joked that his friend was ‘still hoarding’ as he pointed out ‘she’s got a traffic cone in her front drive.’

‘That’s fair enough, you never know when you might need one. Emergency measures,’ Charlotte said. 

A laughing Ben joked ‘Honestly, how long has that been there, Garraway what on earth is going on?’ before adding that he was delighted to see his close friend smiling. 

‘It is lovely like you say to see that smile because we don’t see enough of it.’  

Kate, 53, gave an update on her 52-year-old husband Derek’s battle in the Instagram post on Thursday evening, revealing that while her ‘heart sinks everyday’, Derek is ‘still here’ as he remains in ICU. 

Kate also expressed her gratitude towards her kids Darcey, 14, and Billy, 10, for ‘staying strong’ during the difficult time, with her daughter surprising her by purchasing an NHS ‘Better Together’ T-shirt with her debit card.

‘I didn’t even know Darcey had bought this t shirt on line ( with my card !) until she emerged tonight but I do know how grateful she is to the NHS’, the TV veteran wrote on her social media account.  

Kate shared insight into how she’s coping with her long-time love’s health issues, explaining: ‘I couldn’t be prouder of how she & Billy have coped with these past 2 horrific months for our family – always finding ways of lifting our spirits & staying strong even when they can see me wobbling. 

‘Its so wonderful to see little green shoots of hope that this dreadful disease is easing and that hopefully soon we might all be able to see each other again and hug our nearest and dearest.’ [sic]

Revealing author Derek is still fighting for his life, the Smooth Radio presenter added: ‘But the journey for me and my family seems to be far from over as everyday my heart sinks as I learn new & devastating ways this virus has more battles for Derek to fight. But he is still HERE & so there is still hope.  

‘My heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to anyone who will be affected by this, not just for the next few weeks but for the foreseeable future. That will be the case for many who have suffered from the disease, but also the front line workers who have been helping to treat the worst affected. 

‘The physical and mental scars will run deep and so we need to stick together far beyond the end of lockdown. Thank you so much for all your messages. 

‘I am going to share more of the things that have been keeping me going on clubgarraway.com . And I would love to hear more of your challenges & thoughts there too. Sharing is such a comfort.’ [sic] 

She shared her appreciation for the healthcare professionals amid the COVID-19 by banging pots with a neon green spoon, no doubt thinking of her partner. 

Derek was taken into hospital on March 30 and is understood to be in an unresponsive critical condition as he remains in a critical care unit.