Kate Garraway says Celebrity Traitors ‘affected me’ as she made moving ‘next chapter’ decision

The Good Morning Britains tar was able to process her grief for late husband Derek Draper while filming the BBC One show

Kate Garraway has said she was finally able to process her grief for late husband Derek Draper while filming Celebrity Traitors, saying her time on the show ‘affected her’.

The Good Morning Britain host lost her beloved partner – with whom she had Darcey, 19, and 16-year-old Billy – in January 2024, almost four years after he was left chronically ill after contracting COVID-19.

She said it had taken until she filmed the show in isolation earlier this year for her to allow all the emotion surrounding his passing to “come out”.

She told Fabulous magazine: “I’m a massive fan of the show, and I thought being completely cut off would be amazing – and it was. It was extraordinary, because you were completely engaged in the game.

“You couldn’t think about anything else, as you didn’t have your phone or access to the internet. You couldn’t even watch TV, which was strange for a news junkie like me.

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Kate with her late husband, Derek Draper(Image: Kate Garraway Instagram)

“But there were also moments when you were completely on your own. Well, you weren’t abandoned in some dungeon.

“You were cared for by the team. But it was the first time I wasn’t having to think: ‘Oh, I must pay this bill.’ I was able to be in my own head, and it did allow quite a lot of grief to come out.

“Sometimes, when you weren’t filming, you were escorted around by a producer. You weren’t allowed to talk to them about the game, so you ended up talking about other things.

“On my birthday, she suggested I write down everything I want for the next chapter of my life, and talk about Derek.

“So I did, and then we burned it. It was quite hippy-dippy, but there was not a chance in hell I would have done that at home. When do I ever have three hours to do something like that?”

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Kate is part of the first UK version of Celebrity Traitors(Image: PA)

Kate also said she was really “affected” by her time on the show and struggled to feel like herself again for some time.

She added: “The whole experience really affected me. When I came out, I felt like my hard drive had been wiped. It took quite a few weeks for me to get back to myself or even contact people from the castle, because it felt like, ‘Wow, this was massive.’ “

The 58-year-old star is now considering starting grief counselling. She said: “It was such an incredible experience to have that chunk of time to myself.

“[Until recently] I’ve been in shock and focusing on the children and everything else. But I’ve realised I’m not allowing myself to process.”