When Kate Garraway was one of the 19 famous faces who entered The Celebrity Traitors castle last year, she perhaps needed the break more than any of her fellow players. And while the 58-year-old sadly didn’t manage to win the prize pot for her chosen charity, she did gain the ability to laugh again after a torrid few years. Her husband Derek Draper tragically passed away aged 56 in January 2024, after living with extreme complications from Covid for almost four years, being placed into a medically-induced coma for six months and suffering a heart attack during his time battling the illness.

‘The Traitors came along at what seemed like the worst time,’ Kate admits to Closer.

‘There were all sorts of things going on in my personal life. But what it showed me is the benefit of throwing yourself into something and having the chance to play and laugh and giggle and have fun, and how important that is. It was perfect.’

And Good Morning Britain presenter Kate – who says co-host Susanna Reid would be ‘an incredible faithful’ – says the reaction she received from viewers has only echoed one of her many famous catchphrases from the show.

playing the game on the celebrity traitors ©BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry

‘I am genuinely flabbergasted by the whole thing, I really am,’ she laughs. ‘Everywhere I go, people are either shouting out, “Somebody’s been recruited”, or asking me about sundried tomatoes. It’s amazing.’

At the heart of the show is its host Claudia Winkleman – who was awarded an MBE for services to broadcasting and charity work in December – with Kate revealing what it was like encountering her on the show. She says, ‘Claudia as a mate on a night out is very different from Claudia in the castle. Claudia is fun and mischievous, and she was always warm and friendly and lovely. But it’s just that it’s a very intense game.’

The nation was gripped as the drama from inside the castle walls spilled onto our television screens for three weeks. The series became the UK’s biggest show of 2025, with over 15 million viewers tuning in to watch victor Alan Carr steal the £87,500 prize pot for his charity in the nail-biting finale. One member of the cast that Kate and Derek’s daughter Darcey, 19, and son Billy, 16, were big fans of was YouTuber Niko Omilana – who was banished instead of their mum in the series’ third episode.

it’s been an emotional time for kate, billy and darcey ©Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty Images

‘Darcey was holding watch partes at uni and was mortified in the first week because it ended on such a cliffhanger with me or Niko about to be banished. She didn’t know what to hope for because Niko was her favourite but if he stayed it meant that I was going to go,’ Kate says.

‘She said people were saying to her, “I feel so bad for your mum because either she’s going to go or Niko’s going to go – and if Niko goes, all the young people are going to are going to hate her!” I bet of all the things she thought she’d have to contend with in her first term at university, she didn’t think it’d be that. Just before Christmas, she was at a big uni pub quiz, and the question who made the phrase “I’m flabbergasted” iconic came up. About 300 people all looked at her and she was like, “Yes, my mum!” See, I can be useful sometimes, even though 90% of the time I’m really embarrassing.’

Christmas was a poignant time for the family, who spent the big day at home without Derek for the first time. Kate says, ‘For our first year without Derek, my brother was amazing and had the entire family at his. But this year we were at my house. Darcey helped with the cooking, I don’t know whether she wanted to help or if she was just worried about my cooking – maybe a mixture of both.

with gmb co-hosts ed balls and susanna reid ©Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock

‘We still hung up the stockings and did all of the Santa stuff, but there was quite a lot of emotion floating around because we were in our house without [the children’s] dad, whereas one of the brilliant things about being at my brother’s the year before was that it was the first time we’d ever been there, so everything was new. It was emotional, but Christmas is like that, isn’t it? You celebrate the traditions and you think about the people you’ve lost and make the most of who’s around you. I think it will have been the same for a lot of people.’

As she looks forward to a new year, Kate is throwing herself into building and launching her new free online community platform TheSharing.Life.