ITV Good Morning Britain fans rush to defend Kate Garraway after D-Day backlash

Kate Garraway reported live from Normandy for Thursday's Good Morning Britain.

By Gemma Jones, Showbiz Reporter

GMB: Kate Garraway on walking in footsteps of D-Day soldiers

Good Morning Britain fans rushed to support presenter Kate Garraway after she was hit with cruel backlash following a mention of her late husband, Derek Draper.

The ITV presenter lost her beloved other half in January, after a lengthy battle with complications from contracting covid back in 2020. She often talks fondly of him - Much to the dismay of some viewers.

Today, Kate was at Ver-Sur-Mer, in Normandy, to help commemorate those who fought on D-Day amid the 80th anniversary. While reporting out on the field, she chatted to several brave soldiers who risked their lives in the war.

The pensioners, with some being as old as 100-years-old, had travelled from far and wide to help remember those who had fallen in battle. In a poignant clip, Kate showed a field full of over 1,000 shillouette statues - Each one marking a seperate death.

There was also a clip of Kate interviewing a veteran, John Life, shown as they sat among the graves. Kate explained: "The passion with which he wanted to make this journey because he knew he may not see another D-Day commemoration was overwhelming. And I sat down with him amongst those gravestones to speak with him about his memories of that day."

Kate Garraway

Kate Garraway reported from Normandy (Image: ITV)

She added: "One of the first things he said was 'I'm so sorry for your loss' to me, about the passing of Derek, my husband.

"And the idea that he knew that and thought of that with all that he had been through, I just said to him 'Look, there would have been no Derek, there would have been no me, there would have been no any of our lives without what you did'.

"He cried and we held hands. It's hard to overstate really how important it is for them that we remember and how important it is for us that we remember too."

However, fans quickly rushed to defend the presenter after she was bombarded with cruel backlash from others.

They wrote: "So idiots decide to switch to @GBNEWS #GBNews because @kategarraway her voice changed on @GMB #GMB from Normandy. How quickly they forget it's not that long since she lost her own husband not in WW2 but too long covid. How disrespectful they threatened to switch off yesterday."

Kate Garraway

The ITV presenter became emotional in parts (Image: ITV)

Another added: "Great to see Kate covering the D-Day landings from Normandy."

Although some fans felt Kate's mention of Derek drew attention from D-Day.

"D-Day is NOT Derek Day Kate. For the love of all things holy stop making everything about you #gmb," someone complained.

Meanwhile, another pleaded: "#gmb Kate is obviously struggling, she doesn't know any of the details and is obviously being fed it a line at a time. Just send her home."

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV and ITVX from 6am

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