‘MY 14-DAY SEX CHALLENGE MADE ME VERY HAPPY’
PRESENTER KATE GARRAWAY TALKS MARRIAGE, HEALTH SCARES AND THE SECRET NICOLE KIDMAN ONCE SHARED WITH HER...
Kate Garraway has prepped well for her stint in the I’m A Celebrity – Get Me Out Of Here! jungle. The Good Morning Britain presenter has swapped her early morning chocolate for healthier options. She says: ‘Eating avocados and low-sugar foods has helped keep my energy levels up.’
The 52 year old shares two children – Darcey, 12, and Billy, ten – with husband Derek and says: ‘I do love being a mum.’
But while missing her family is at the forefront of her mind, she’s also preoccupied by the thought of the challenges she’s set to face in the coming days. ‘I’m terrified of heights and being in a little box with creepy crawlies or snakes in it!’ she confesses, adding: ‘I thought it would be good to tackle those fears head on.’
Before jetting to Australia, brave Kate reveals her saggy bottom battles, hangovers and her health scares...
What’s your motivation for doing this show?
I want to go in the jungle and fly the flag for the older woman. As you get older, you realise you don’t get many chances for pure adventure in life.
You’re always so cheerful on TV. What’s the secret?
Keep your serotonin levels topped up by regular exercise. A loving relationship really helps, too. I enjoyed doing the 14-day sex challenge [having sex every day for two weeks] which I wrote about in my book as it helped to put the spark back into my marriage and it made me very happy!
What exercise do you do?
I swim every week and I do yoga. When I worked with Penny Smith at GMTV, she used to devise routines in our dressing room. Yoga is a great stress buster and fantastic for all those core stomach muscles that have turned to jelly since having kids. I’m quite bendy and I can still touch my toes. Since I turned 50 I struggle with my bottom sagging, tummy wobbling and flabby upper arms. I don’t want to look old in my advanced years so I also go on a power walk for half an hour every day. It helps to keep the pounds off.
How will you find the bland jungle diet?
Well, my mum was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in her sixties and that made me want to cut sugar out. It’s always easy for me to put on weight because I work weird hours and I crave sugar, when actually what I need is sleep. I don’t drink that regularly, although when I do have lunch with the girls, I like to go big. I can’t cope with the hangovers like I used to though.
Have you had any health scares in your life?
It was a real drama when my appendix burst and I was rushed to hospital to have it taken out. I also had a scare when I found a lump in my breast five weeks after Billy was born, which thankfully wasn’t cancerous. And it was terrifying when doctors found a growth on one of my kidneys after I was hospitalised with excruciating abdominal pains. They initially thought it could be cancerous but further tests put me in the clear and it turned out to be a cyst, which I then had removed.
You’ve spoken previously about the menopause. Are you experiencing any symptoms?
I definitely have drier skin but I haven’t had the sweats or flushes yet. I’ll definitely embrace it though and I’m totally open to having HRT [hormone replacement therapy]. Lots of people come out of it feeling stronger. I spoke to a doctor in America who said that your brain is rewired because of the hormonal changes and you emerge with a different way of thinking!
You mention dry skin, but yours looks great. What’s the secret?
Nicole Kidman has flawless skin and she told me she used Clarins moisturiser so I rushed out to buy a pot. But now that I’m older, my face and neck is more wrinkly than ever, so I use Elemis day cream and there’s some improvement. I was looking into having a face lift but I’ve not jumped yet!