Kate Garraway says it's 'tough to balance the budget' amid £800k debts

Kate Garraway says it’s tough to ‘balance the budget’ after racking up between £500,000 and £800,000 of debt while caring for her late husband, Derek Draper.

Talking at the King’s Trust Awards with TK Maxx and Homesense, the Good Morning Britain presenter said of the cost of care, “It’s definitely tough to balance the budget, I feel like carers often don’t have a voice so I’m here to shout about it and the costs that go unnoticed.

"I wouldn’t want to be the chancellor right now with the costs going on overall right now.”

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Broadcaster Kate, 48, cared for her husband Derek for four years as he suffered from an agonising health battle after contracting Covid-19 in 2020 and being left with long Covid, with the family faced with sky high costs to look after him.

“Derek's care costs more than my salary from ITV and that is before you pay for a mortgage, before you pay any household bills, before you pay for anything for the kids, so we are at a crunch point,” Kate said before Derek’s passing.

Kate returned to work on Good Morning Britain weeks after Derek’s death in January last year, and has since been an advocate for carers across the country.

“I think some people are probably a bit tired of me going on about carers and the lack of support, but I won’t because they need a voice,” said Kate.

The broadcaster has been supported by several of her colleagues amid the difficult time, and detailed her close relationship with former co-presenter Ben Shephard.

“Ben and I are great friends, I always see him in the studio on Thursdays because I’m in for GMB and he’s in for This Morning, so it’s lovely. He’s actually not happy with me right now because we’ve been meaning to go for lunch and haven’t yet. I owe him a lunch!”

Hot off the heels of visiting Buckingham Palace a day prior to the King’s Trust Awards, Kate said she was grateful to His Majesty for his continued support of her. “The king has a very charming personality and he’s always been so kind to me. He’s looking really well and healthy too, which was really nice to see,” shared Kate.

“The Kings Trust Awards is always a very special occasion and now Good Morning Britain is part of an award too so I feel like I can get involved anymore,” she explained, referencing the show's involvement in the volunteer of the year award, which was won by Nabilla Zulfiqar.

The King’s Trust Awards, which began in recognise young people who have improved their own chances in life and had a positive impact on their local community.

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