Laura Tobin has praised her “amazing” co-star Kate Garraway for her continuous support to husband Derek Draper, who spent over a year in hospital battling coronavirus. Speaking exclusively with OK!, the Meteorologist told us: “She’s been the glue that’s kept the family together."
Just for OK! VIPs, Laura Tobin has revealed how the Good Morning Britain team has been supporting Kate during the devastating time and even given an insight into how Derek is getting on after finally returning home.
Are you an OK! VIP? If not, why not? It’s free and gives you backstage access to stories like this, exclusive home tours, special discounts and so much more! All you need to do is pop your email address below! P.s. if you’re already seeing this article in full, congrats – you’re already on our guest list!
After being admitted to hospital in March 2020, Derek Draper has returned home to Kate Garraway and their two children, Billy and Darcey.
Weather presenter and close friend of Kate Garraway, Laura Tobin, knows all too well the heart-breaking experience of having to leave a loved one in hospital, after her premature birth with daughter Charlotte.
To receive big exclusives like this to your inbox every week, sign up to our VIP newsletter here
Laura, 39, rushed to Kate’s side when Derek was in hospital but admitted she found it hard to know the best way to support her.
“The difficult thing with Kate, and Derek being in hospital and Billy and Darcey, is knowing how you can help, particularly in the middle of a pandemic," she said.
“If you live round the corner, you can take food, a lot of people were sending Lego and things for the kids to play so you know we just always tried to make sure that we do as much as we can.”
The ITV star explained that everyone from the Good Morning Britain team wanted Kate to know how much she is supported and always thought of. Laura told OK!: “It’s just getting across to her how we are literally all thinking of her all the time.”
Kate was welcomed with open arms when she returned to work and Laura said that she thought that returning to the set was the best thing for her colleague.
“It was so nice when she finally came back to Good Morning Britain, I think it was probably good for her to some kind of normality back again,” she explained.
Laura also gave an insight into how Derek is doing since returning home. “He’s talking, he’s communicating, the kids are loving it, running up and down the garden going, “dad, dad, look at us,'" she said.
“We are all hoping that being together, you know the pandemic meant they couldn’t be together, they couldn’t hug, you know being able to hug him and be with him all day, hopefully will help him and that will help her.”
The stunning brunette added: “[Kate's] the glue that’s kept the family together, she’s been amazing.”
Here, Laura opens up about her parenting journey – and reveals which rock star she’d love to see playing host on the ITV show’s sofa…
We love this shoot, Laura. You strike us as quite an outdoorsy family…
Charlotte loves being outdoors. When you have a premature baby, they’re vulnerable to all illnesses and colds because they don’t have the immunity a normal-term baby would have. You have to be really careful with them and when you come home, the advice is, “Don’t go to supermarkets, don’t hang around with anybody who’s got a cold.” I didn’t go to a baby class, we’ve never been on holiday, because the advice is not to go on planes. Essentially lockdown [advice], which is to be outdoors, fresh air, wash your hands, we did anyway in the first two years of her life and followed the preventative measures that would make her get as fit and healthy and strong as possible. Then six months later we were in lockdown [Laughs]. So we’ve known what a lockdown entails. It’s a shame it’s been in the past year, when we were finally more confident to do other things.
Has Charlotte built up her immune system now, letting her mix more?
Yeah, it’s pretty much when they’re two. Once, we went into town, sat in a coffee shop and she then got a cold, and we had to go back into hospital for a week. We were like, “We won’t do that again.” She doesn’t feel she’s missing out on much [in lockdown], because she’s already done it.
So was the coronavirus a worry for you with Charlotte’s weaker immune system?
At first we weren’t sure, because with premature babies the last thing that develops is their lungs and they are much weaker as a result. But the older you get, the lungs become bigger and stronger. Her lungs now are probably the same as any other three-year old’s. At first we were really cautious, thinking, “It’s a respiratory thing to do with lungs, and her lungs aren’t that strong, are we going to be okay?” Then a few weeks later, it came out that it doesn’t affect little ones nearly as badly. That was a weight off our minds.
What was it like giving birth prematurely?
If you knew what was happening, you’d be very worried, but I didn’t know I was going into labour. As it was so early, I had no idea. The story is, I turned up at work, I had a tummy ache, the wardrobe lady said, “My goodness, you don’t look well.” Charlotte [Hawkins] said, “Oh, it’s Braxton Hicks.” Dr Hilary was on his way in, so Debbie in wardrobe phoned him and he said, “It sounds like she might be going into labour but don’t tell her. I don’t want her to worry. St Thomas’s hospital is down the road, which has the best unit in the country for premature birth.” I just turned up at hospital and had no idea I was going into labour. It slowly dawned on me, “Okay, fine. It’s going to happen.”
Were you worried during the time Charlotte was in hospital?
One of the mums said, “It’s one step forward and two steps back, but overall you’re taking steps forward and your baby will come home with you one day.” We stayed calm and listened to the doctors, and I had Dr Hilary on hand. He was my point of call all the time. He had premature twins, born around the same gestation as Charlotte. Nothing came as a shock, because Dr Hilary told me what to expect.
So if not for him, would you have gone to hospital that day?
I don’t know! I’m guessing I would but probably much further down the line, when I realised I was going into labour. I’m sure my editor would have loved that – giving birth live on air. By that point Dr Hilary would have been in and it would have been his job to deliver the baby. I don’t know how I feel about that [Laughs]. Thank God for Dr Hilary.
What’s Charlotte’s personality like now?
She’s really funny and really kind. She likes to say nice things like, “Mummy, you’re a shining star.” When you smile, it makes her smile. She’s brave and likes picking up her chickens and playing on her scooter. She doesn’t miss a trick and she loves make-up.
Would you like Charlotte to be a scientist, like you?
I would love her to be. Before she was born, and before I knew whether she was a he or a she, I really wanted my child to be a scientist. I think it’s really important to be inquisitive and investigative and learn about things. I want to teach her that the world is precious and that’s why being outdoors is so important to us.
What’s the best thing about being a mum?
I love playing all day. In lockdown, I was like, “Parents, you could have sent your children to me, I would play crafts all day.” I love it.
What’s it like being part of the Good Morning Britain team?
It’s a privilege every day to be in people’s living rooms to tell them the weather. I have the best job in the world. The team are on point every day. When I joined, I recall watching Lorraine [Kelly] and how she worked with guests. Her and Susanna [Reid] are of the same mould – everything’s written down. Their notebooks are crammed. They know everything, backwards, forwards and inside out. It’s like a masterclass watching them. I love doing the weather with Andi Peters. With the competitions, he makes it look so effortless but what he does is really hard. I’m in awe of him every day.
Never miss a celebrity exclusive again!
Become an OK! VIP and get all of our exclusive interviews, videos and stunning photo shoots sent straight to your inbox every week!
You'll receive an email with stories exclusive only for OK! VIP members, including celebrity house tours, baby reveals, wedding snaps and so much more!
What are you waiting for? Sign up here
Kate Garraway’s been through so much in the past year with husband Derek Draper being hospitalised with coronavirus. You must be so proud of her…
She’s amazing. Her documentary [Finding Derek] is amazing. I don’t bother her with it at work. I don’t ask her questions because I know she’s in work mode. But actually, she’s really open, even on air, which I’m amazed by. When I had Charlotte in hospital, I’d come on and be like, “Hey, everyone” and didn’t feel like I wanted to share all that. She’s doing it because there are so many people going through something similar. It helps her and other people. And the first time I saw her [after Derek was admitted to hospital] was amazing. She continues to be really strong – but that’s what she’s like at work. She’s the craziest, most disorganised organised person you’ll ever meet.
In what way?
Her room is a mess, Ben [Shephard] is always going on about her hair being a mess and once her handbag actually had a bird’s nest in it, because it was a project one of her children was doing at school. But she remembers every interview, everything she’s ever done, and her brain is still in place – and then some. Piers Morgan said, “Treat this as a piece of research, look at every angle, every avenue, and you will come out of the other side of this.” She’s tackled it in a very methodical way, I think.
How’s it been since Piers left? Do you miss him?
I wasn’t even there that day [when he left] and that whole week was just a crazy week – but that’s all I’m going to say about that.
There’ve been lots of rumours of lots of different presenters taking over from Piers Morgan since his exit. Who would be your dream?
Jon Bon Jovi!
Ha! He’d be amazing. There are also a lot of rumours that you’re set to appear on Strictly. Is that something you’d be interested in?
I would love to do Strictly. I love dancing and singing, that’s all I do around the house with Charlotte. I would be available…
Tell us about your work with the Ickle Pickles charity…
It was set up by a mum called Rachel whose son was born about 12 weeks early. When these babies are born their eyes are closed and don’t open for a while. His eyes were closed for ages and they didn’t want to name him until they could see what he looked like. The nurse used to call him her “Ickle Pickle” and the name stuck with them. They wanted to do something to say thank you and help other people, so they set up the charity. Anybody can help raise money for it and they will give the proceeds to hospitals that might
need things such as a new incubator or breast pump. So far, they’ve raised nearly £1.5million.
Tell us about the Sudocrem 90km cycle, which will raise money for the charity…
You have to cycle 90km as a family. If you’re really ambitious you can do it in a day, or you’ve got until the end of the year to do little journeys as a family and you get your friends and relatives to sponsor you. When the weather gets nicer we’ll go out on journeys down the river.
For information on taking part in the Sudocrem 90km Challenge, visit sudocrem.co.uk/cycle-more or icklepickles.org.
Source: Read Full Article