Kate Garraway Encourages Daughter to Join Love Island

It's one of the steamiest dating shows on television where contestants are forced to undergo kissing challenges, divulge secrets about their sex lives and share beds with their partners.

But has revealed she wouldn’t mind if her 20-year-old daughter, Darcey, went on ’s Love Island.

The presenter told the Daily Mail: ‘I’d love to do Love Island but I’m not really bikini ready.

‘I would let Darcey do Love Island, absolutely, but she says she would never do it!’

The mother-of-two shares her children Darcey and William, 16, with the late Labour spin-doctor, Derek Draper, who died in 2024 following heart complications from Long Covid.

Kate recently starred on Celebrity Traitors and asked what was the worst part about the show, she said: ‘My daughter had just started uni and the very first roundtable with me and Nico. So one of those people in that stand off was the person that gave birth to her and the other was universally the most popular cast member.

'She was like “Oh my god mum what have you done to me, all my friends are saying if Nico goes, I’m going to kill your mum!”’

The Celebrity Traitors star was first spotted with her new rumoured beau, a British broadcaster and economist Liam Halligan in April.

Remaining tight-lipped about her new romance, Kate would only explain: ‘Everyone is being so sweet about it.’

Kate previously spelled out all the sad and angry feelings that made dropping her daughter Darcey off at university without her late husband Derek so difficult.

The star said it was hard watching other students arriving with both parents to help them - both physically and emotionally. 

Speaking in December last year, she explained: 'I think it was incredibly emotional because first of all we didn't think she was going to....well, we assumed she was going to fail her A levels basically.

'And she didn't do brilliantly, brilliantly, but she did a lot better than anybody including the school thought she would.

'Because, you know, it had all come with Derek passing away and then the fall out and everything, and then lower sixth she'd missed a huge amount of school and stuff.

'Then it sort of all came good so there was a sort of big relief.

'And then heading off to uni and then it was really emotional. I felt very emotional, I didn't want her to feel it, but I think we both felt that dad wasn't there. 

'It was a very conscious feeling when you're watching the parents all carrying the boxes in. Of course not everyone has got both parents there, but it does feel like it to you.

'We're just struggling with the cases and everything and also thinking he would be so proud.'

Kate said driving away to head back home was tough because she didn't have her husband to share both her pride and sadness.

She told the Off Menu podcast: 'Actually leaving her she was fine. I did have a really good weep because I thought the two of us, Derek and I, should be going now to have a bite to eat and to drive home both emotional but also having a little pat on the back thinking 'ok, we got here there, we got her through'.

'And instead I just felt sort of cross that he wasn't there.'