Kate Garraway: ‘I’ve done a LOT of clubbing!’
Funny and candid as ever, Good Morning Britain presenter Kate Garraway gives best an insight into her hectic life…
For someone who survives (or so she says) on around four hours’ sleep a night, Kate Garraway, 50, always seems remarkably chipper. Her straight-talking ways, undeniable gift for making on-air gaffes and cheeky sense of humour, most often aimed at herself, have won her many fans. As well as being a bit of a morning-TV queen on Good Morning
Britain, holding down a presenting job on Smooth Radio and being a loving mum to Darcey, 11, and Billy, seven, she’s found the time to launch a spring/summer kids’ clothing line with M&Co and release a moving and hilarious book on ageing, The Joy Of Big Knickers (Or Learning To Love The Rest Of Your Life). Kate, we salute you! Tell us about your kids’ clothes range for M&Co, Kite & Cosmic. It’s a tie-up to I CAN, which is a children’s communication charity I’m an ambassador for. I’ve been sketching ideas for kids’ clothes ever since I was pregnant with Darcey!
Have your two children inspired the collection?
Well, Billy’s into being smart at the moment, inspired by Matt Smith in Doctor Who. He loves his ties and jackets, so we’ve got a feel of that in the collection. Darcey loves shinning up trees, so we made sure we had a cool pair of culottes in the range – she’s at that age where she still wants to hang upside down, but doesn’t want her knickers to be on show!
Not like her mum, then [Kate famously flashed hers on GMB]…
Ha ha! She’s learned from me that it’s not a good look. Maybe I need culottes in my life – especially with Ben Shephard chucking me in ice baths… Other inspirations? Darcey’s best mate has a French bulldog, so we put those motifs in the collection.
Do your children think you’re a cool mum?
Actually, I’m ridiculously embarrassing. Darcey had a trampoline party for her 11th birthday, and she went, ‘Mum, please don’t go on the trampoline in front of my mates.’ I said, ‘Darcey, not only am I going on it, I’m filming it, and I’m putting it on Twitter.’
Sweetly, she’s very interested in my clothes and make-up. I’ll come home and tell her about a new fashion trend and she’ll not really give me any credit, but then I hear her telling her friends… Publicly, though, I’m just an embarrassment.
Darcey said recently that she was scared you’ll ‘die sooner’ as an older mum…
That was a heart-stopping moment. I’m older than her friends’ mums, and I’d asked her if she wished I was younger or cooler. She said, ‘I don’t wish that, Mum, but I do think, because you’re older, you might die sooner.’ You don’t expect kids to think like that. But, equally, you can’t regret the decisions you’ve made.
Like having children later on in life?
Exactly. Life is about timing. I am conscious about being healthy and having as much energy as possible, so that I’m the best mum I can be to my kids.
Are there pluses to being the ‘older mum’? [Kate was in her late 30s when she married Derek Draper in 2005.]
Derek’s a great dad, and I wouldn’t have wanted children with anyone else. The older you get, the more you get your priorities in a different order. When you’re younger, you want to be out clubbing, or travelling. As you get older, you think, ‘I’ve done that’ (and I’ve done a lot of clubbing!), and you’re happy to stay in and bake cupcakes.
You approach ageing with such humour…
There is that moment when you think, ‘ Wow, is it all downhill from here?’ But I’ve come to the realisation that there’s nothing wrong with downhill from here – it’s better than an uphill struggle! I had two friends who never got the chance to moan about turning 50 (which I did on 4 May). It’s a gift that I can worry about it.
You once said you have a ‘neck like a dinosaur’s testicle’!
Really! I’ve had lines on my neck since age 13. I used to moan about my old woman’s neck, but at least my face has evened that out now. It’s genetics. I blame my mother.
How’s life on GMB?
Varied, and a lot of fun. I do most of my work with Ben Shephard, so I get to enjoy the fun and games with Piers [Morgan] from less close quarters than Susanna [Reid]. We all bring something different to the mix.
You present a show on Smooth Radio. How does that compare with TV?
I love the musical element, after being such a news junkie. They say radio is like whispering in someone’s ear, while TV is like having a chat over the garden fence. l
Kate Garraway’s Kite & Cosmic clothing collection is available at M&Co. Visit mandco.com for more details.