IS PRAISED BY HER PEERS AS STAR MAKES POIGNANT RETURN TO THE PUBLIC EYE
It was a night of glitz, glamour and gongs at the Variety Club Showbusiness Awards, with stars including Kate Garraway, Rochelle Humes and Dame Joan Collins among the famous faces being honoured.
HELLO! was with them at The Londoner hotel in the heart of the capital’s West End, greeting guests on the red carpet before heading into the grand ballroom to see hostess Amanda Holden, dazzling in a white dress by Celia Kritharioti, announce the winners.
Among them was Good Morning Britain and Global radio presenter Kate, who was making her first redcarpet appearance since the death of her husband Derek Draper in January and took to the stage in the night’s most poignant moment.
The 56-year-old was honoured with the Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting – TV and Radio award, for a career including her inspirational documentaries about Derek’s health struggles after he contracted Covid-19 in early 2020.
Thanking those who supported her throughout, Kate said: “When you do go through something tough, you find out where the goodness is.”
She also praised her Global colleagues, saying: “The energy and fun is just fantastic. But when things take a dark turn, suddenly you see this amazing side of people who not only help you go on air every day and look half-decent doing your show, but also come round and keep you going and help you survive.”
RAISING THE BAR
Kate was introduced by her former ITV co-star Ben Shephard, who said: “We’ve worked together, on and off, for 24 years. I’m much better at what I do because I worked alongside Kate Garraway.”
Tributes were also paid to 90-yearold Dame Joan, who took home the Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contribution to Global Film and Television for a career spanning nearly eight decades.
“It’s wonderful and it’s a great honour,” she told us.
Speaking about Variety’s 75 years of helping disabled and disadvantaged children in the UK, she added: “It’s a great charity and I know it very well because my father and my family weree very involved with it. It’s a fantastic charity, particularly for children.”
