Brenda Edwards broke down in tears on Monday as the Loose Women panel shared a touching tribute to Kate Garraway after the tragic loss of her husband Derek Draper.
Derek died aged 56 last month after a long battle with his health from contracting the coronavirus at the start of the pandemic.
Kate, 56, and her and Derek’s children Darcey, 17 and Billy, 11, were joined by family and friends at the Church of St Mary the Virgin, the same church Kate and Derek were married in, for a service of remembrance followed by his burial on Friday.
On Monday’s Loose Women, Ruth Langsford, Kelly Holmes and Brenda praised Kate for her and her children’s strength.
Ruth said: ‘[Kate’s] spoken so many times about Derek which has been amazing because so many people were going through similar things post-Covid but how she’s managed to do this just after he’s passed away. I mean the extraordinary strength she’s found.’
Brenda Edwards broke down in tears on Monday as the Loose Women panel shared a touching tribute to Kate Garraway after the tragic loss of her husband Derek Draper
Derek died aged 56 last month after a long battle with his health from contracting the coronavirus at the start of the pandemic (pictured with Kate)
Kate, 56, and her and Derek’s children Darcey, 17 and Billy, 11, were joined by family and friends at the Church of St Mary the Virgin, the same church Kate and Derek were married in, for a service of remembrance followed by his burial on Friday
Kelly then added: ‘I need to thank Kate, she’s shown support to members of our family.
‘She’s obviously not aware but Bobby and Steve, has also been in the same difficult situation as having long-Covid and has had drastic life-changing consequences of having Covid.
‘Her humanity strikes me more than anything. Her ability to reach in and connect with everybody at every level, despite her own challenges of what she’s actually going through.
‘She seems to have this selfless nature, where she reaches in and go “I’m with you, I’m holding hands with you”, there is no separation of us and them, it’s where in this together.
‘Watching her and how she’s managed this whole situation, heartbreaking for her and her family but never forgetting everybody else also going through the same challenges.’
Brenda, whose son Jamal Edwards tragically passed away at the age of 31 in 2022, then became visibly emotional as she talked about dealing with grief.
Ruth said: ‘She did talk, Brenda, about how much support she’s had from people, viewers and colleagues. And we all need that, from wherever it’s coming from.’
Brenda’s voice broke as she responded: ‘Absolutely, it was very moving hearing her talking about the challenges of life now.
On Monday’s Loose Women, Ruth Langsford, Kelly Holmes and Brenda praised Kate for her and her children’s strength
Brenda, whose son Jamal Edwards tragically passed away at the age of 31 in 2022, then became visibly emotional as she talked about dealing with grief
‘We’ve spoken about it here so many times, it’s not when you’re going through it and it’s the after and what happens then. Hats off to her for her to come back to work on Thursday.
‘There are so many people that have something to say about how soon you come back but that is what she obviously needs to just have that support network around and there are so many people who don’t have that.’
Ruth continued: ‘As she said, Derek wouldn’t want them to be grieving forever. She said, we’ve got to pick ourselves up and go on, that’s what Derek did and he would have want me to do the same.
‘The way she talks about her children and how extraordinary she’s been and how mature they’ve been about it all.’
The panel also praised Darcey, who bravely acted as a pallbearer to carry her father’s coffin in and out of the church during the funeral.
Kelly revealed she had been a pallbearer for her mother and said that ‘for the rest of her life [Darcey] will remember that moment feeling proud’.
Ruth added: ‘For me that’s the final act of love you can show someone is to celebrate their life in that way.’
Brenda then broke down in tears and the camera cut away as Ruth handed her a box of tissues.
The panel also praised Darcey, who bravely acted as a pallbearer to carry her father’s coffin in and out of the church during the funeral
![Kelly revealed she had been a pallbearer for her mother and said that 'for the rest of her life [Darcey] will remember that moment feeling proud'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/05/18/80879151-13048077-image-a-7_1707156528243.jpg)
Kelly revealed she had been a pallbearer for her mother and said that ‘for the rest of her life [Darcey] will remember that moment feeling proud’
Brenda then broke down in tears and the camera cut away as Ruth handed her a box of tissues and said: ‘We knew this would be hard but Brenda still wanted to talk about this today, we’ll just give her a moment’
Brenda’s son Jamal died of a cardiac arrhythmia caused by recreational drugs at her home in February 2022. He was Prince’s Trust Ambassador, who was known for his charitable services and received an MBE at the age of 23 for his services to music (pictured together)
Addressing the viewers, Ruth said: ‘We knew this would be hard but Brenda still wanted to talk about this today, we’ll just give her a moment.’
Brenda’s son Jamal died of a cardiac arrhythmia caused by recreational drugs at her home in February 2022.
He was Prince’s Trust Ambassador, who was known for his charitable services and received an MBE at the age of 23 for his services to music.
Ruth concluded by saying: ‘We wish Kate and Darcey and Billy and all Derek’s family and friends all our love and all the very best moving forward now.’
Derek was among the first in the UK to fall seriously ill with Covid-19 and was admitted to an intensive care unit as the country entered lockdown in March 2020.
He was one of the country’s longest-suffering Covid patients after being in hospital but never fully recovered after the virus left long-lasting damage to his organs and meant he needed round-the-clock care.
The former political lobbyist was able to leave hospital after a year to recover at home but tragically suffered a heart attack last year and never recovered.
Kate revealed her husband died as she held his hand ‘throughout the last long hours and when he passed’ on January 3.
Derek was among the first in the UK to fall seriously ill with Covid-19 and was admitted to an intensive care unit as the country entered lockdown in March 2020
Kate revealed her husband died as she held his hand ‘throughout the last long hours and when he passed’ on January 3 (pictured together in 2007)
The Good Morning Britain star announced the death of her husband of 18 years on Instagram and said: ‘Rest gently and peacefully now Derek, my love, I was so lucky to have you in my life.’
Kate is said to be ‘keen to keep busy and get back to work’, and is also hoping to return to her show on Smooth Radio.
She is provisionally scheduled to return full-time, but ITV have offered her the option to take time off as and when she needs.
She confirmed she will return to the desk on GMB on Thursday and joked: ‘I’m going to be looking forward to a blow dry.’
Kate went on: ‘I am looking forward to coming into the world and connecting with everyone again.
‘Thank you for having me back but have a little patience, I might be a bit rusty. I think there is a new king. Have I caught up with that?’
Kate is said to be ‘keen to keep busy and get back to work’, and is also hoping to return to her show on Smooth Radio. She confirmed she will return to the desk on GMB on Thursday