Adil Ray has paid tribute to Kate Garraway for being “so supportive” when his mother died.
Adil Ray has paid tribute to Kate Garraway for being ‘so supportive’ to him when his mother died
The 50-year-old ‘Good Morning Britain’ presenter – who now co-hosts the breakfast show with Kate, 57, after first joining the flagship ITV series in 2019 – added they “share a lot” of experiences with grief as he told how she was a shoulder to cry on when his mum Nargis was killed by pancreatic cancer a few months before her late husband was stricken with the Covid that eventually led to his death.
He told the Daily Mirror: “When my mum died, I was working with Kate at the time. She was so supportive.
“(But) one of the benefits of doing more shows together is you get to know more because you see her on a regular basis. You realise how much she’s got going on. It’s just incredible.
“She’s a mother and a father at the moment. It’s not easy. And she’s grieving – we share a lot in that.”
Kate was left devastated after she lost 56-year-old husband Derek Draper in January, after his years-long battle with Covid.
She is now battling to pay off the crippling costs of the former political strategist’s round-the-clock medical care while looking after their children Darcey, 17, and 14-year-old William.
And for the past two weeks she has been off air “putting family first” as her father Gordon, 89, was rushed to hospital with a suspected stroke and heart attack.
Adil lost his mum in early 2020 after her cancer symptoms were spotted late as she also suffered from Parkinson’s disease, and she died aged 73.
He added: “She had other symptoms and doctors were not sure what was going on.
“They thought it was part of her Parkinson’s and, quite rightly so, as Parkinson’s can affect so many parts of the body.
“But, actually, after some further tests, it turned out she had stage four pancreatic cancer. It was devastating.
“She was given six months and she lasted three. I think pancreatic cancer is terrible - because the symptoms can go undiagnosed for such a long time.”
Kate has issued an update on her father’s condition, saying: “It was very scary but am so pleased that he is now stable and even recovering a bit.”
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