Kate Garraway is reportedly growing close to a new man – and he is said to be a friend of her late husband Derek Draper.
Derek 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.
And now, it’s been claimed that Kate has struck up a close friendship with a male friend who is making her ‘smile again’.
Kate Garrway ‘getting cosy’ with man after Derek Draper death
According to reports, Kate has been linked to broadcaster Liam Halligan, 56. He was reportedly 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.
I’ll obviously continue to write my weekly “Economics Agenda” column for the Telegraph, and… pic.twitter.com/f85len56uk
— 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.
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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