Kate Garraway is growing close to a new man – a friend of her late husband Derek Draper – with broadcaster Liam Halligan now breaking his silence on their “close friendship”.
Derek Draper sadly passed away in January 2024. The former political advisor suffered from serious health complications after contracting Covid-19 in 2020. Since then, GMB star Kate – who has two children with Derek, Darcey and Billy – has been open about life without her husband.
Earlier today, April 14), it was reported that Kate has struck up a close friendship with a male friend who is making her “smile again”. Now, he’s broken his silence, revealing how they reconnected in recent months…
Kate Garraway ‘getting cosy’ with new man after Derek Draper death
Reports earlier today saw 58-year-old Kate linked to broadcaster Liam Halligan, 56. He was a friend of Derek’s and has known Kate for 20 years.
Over the weekend, Kate was spotted in his home town of Saffron Walden in Essex at The Railway Arms pub. There, Liam was performing with his band, The Hooligans. And according to MailOnline, Kate was seen ‘getting cosy’ with Liam, in which he also reportedly introduced the star to his friends and his neighbours.
“Kate has formed a close friendship with Liam and they really enjoy one another’s company. They met through friends. Liam makes her laugh, he is very funny and they’ve been hanging out with their close circle of mates,” a source told the publication.
Kate’s rumoured new man Liam can be seen in a photo obtained by the publication. In the snap Kate is posing alongside pals, with a man seemingly to be Liam standing in the background.
Some personal/professional news:
I’m launching “When the Facts Change – economics and politics in a fast-changing world”.
Click on the link in my X biography to read my first post.
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— Liam Halligan (@LiamHalligan) March 19, 2025
‘It’s lovely to see Kate smiling again’
Nonetheless, despite Liam being able to reportedly make Kate ‘smile again’, the source went on to say: “Kate doesn’t know if it will go anywhere. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t, but it’s complicated.
“It has been really tough for Kate since Derek died, and she is a mother to two children and they are all still grieving. But they have known one another for 20 years. Liam knew Derek. They have so many friends in common. It’s lovely to see Kate smiling again.”
ED! has contacted Kate’s representatives for comment.
‘It’s early days, we’ll see what happens’
After the news broke, Liam appeared on Mark Dolan’s Talk TV show. And he was asked about Kate…
He said: “It’s early days, we’ll see what happens. I’ve known her for a long time, I knew Derek, I was a political commentator, of course I knew him. In recent years for different reasons, we have both become single, against our wishes. So, in recent weeks and months, Kate and I have become good friends.”
Liam added: “We were reintroduced. Kate and a lot of friends came to see my band The Hooligans play in Saffron Walden, my hometown over the weekend. It turns out some of my neighbours were excited that she was in the pub and posted some pictures.
“Kate and I are good friends, it’s early days, we’ll see what happens.”
Kate Garraway on finding love again after Derek Draper
Meanwhile, in September 2025, Kate revealed that she doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life “without love”. She then added that she was not dating anyone at the time, despite what rumours suggested.
Speaking to The Sun, Kate said: “I don’t have Facebook, but all my friends tell me there’s loads of stuff about me being in a relationship and having a boyfriend on there. On the internet, too.
“One website said: ‘We have everything you need to know about Kate’s new man.’ It was an AI mix of Ben Shephard’s face with a man who works with me. I thought it was hilarious.”
She added that another picture showed Kate with a group of friends, including her friend’s husband. She said that he loved it as he was described as “a hunky Kevin Costner lookalike”, before adding that they “are not dating”.
Read more: ‘Need their eyes testing!’ Kate Garraway’s new appearance ridiculed on GMB today
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