What Kate Garraway did next

1/4
5 April 2012
The Weekender

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Having presented GMTV for 10 years, and in her current role as Entertainment Editor for ITV1's breakfast show Daybreak, Kate Garraway is one of the most familiar faces on television. But it's a new website called Goodypass.com that is keeping her especially busy these days. Here she tells us all about it...

Did you always want to work in television?
After being a fairy and a ballet dancer, I wanted to be a vet. Then I realised it would require having As in physics, maths, biology and chemistry for your A-Levels. I certainly wasn't going to get As. So I ended up doing English and Politics at Bath university. But there were hints of me wanting to work in broadcasting from an early age. My mother reminds me that when I was younger I would play with a tape recorder and slinky toy and pretend to host "the slinky Olympics" with my brother. I was the interviewer and the interviewee. I sometimes used to host the show while doing a Margaret Thatcher impression.

After I left university I worked for a law firm. My job involved writing and law but I preferred the writing. I decided I wanted to be a journalist but in those days they didn't really have journalism courses. I started off working for free in local radio. Then I applied for a training scheme with ITN.

What kind of training did you have?
For the first few weeks I learned about copyright law and the basics of writing and communicating things very succinctly. But I guess I really learned when doing the job. There are similarities between working for big broadcast companies and local radio because it is all about people. It is about being genuinely curious about what makes people tick.

You were part of the team that launched BBC News 24. That must have been an exciting project to work on...
It was one of the highlights of my career and such a great thing to be part of. It was also a big learning curve, we were tackling big issues from the beginning. One of the first questions I was asked to tackle on air is whether peace in the Middle East is possible.

How did this compare to being a Sky News anchor?
Sky News is a very well-oiled machine. I worked on some amazing stories like the Good Friday Agreement and the Kosovo bombings. There is something completely surreal about sitting in an air conditioned office watching live footage of people at war and delivering the news to people live. Because of the internet connections we have now everything becomes so much more real. There is instant feedback on what you are reporting.

How do you detach yourself from sensitive stories and report neutrally?
I think the reality of it makes you feel more responsible. You feel very aware that the story is about other people, not you.

You were on GMTV for 10 years. How early did you have to get up for the show?
Very early. Unfortunately I can't seem to get off morning television. I need PMTV to launch. I would get up at about 2.30am for GMTV but I am a bit of a geek and do go into work a bit earlier than most people. I like to prepare.

How did you feel when you heard GMTV was coming to an end?
Something can feel like an institution but it can still be replaced. So many great shows have come to an end but if you don't lose them you won't have the new programmes like The One Show and X Factor.

So was ITV right to introduce Daybreak?
I think people on GMTV were very aware of how fond people were of it. But the great thing about a live show is that people can make up their own minds. It can evolve and change every day.

What does your day to day job as Entertainment Editor of Daybreak involve?
It's a nightmare (laughs). I had to give up talking about fiscal policies with Gordon Brown to interviewing the likes of Justin Timberlake. It's brilliant. I love my job. It's preposterous that I get paid money to do it.

You have interviewed a lot of high-profile names. Who has been your favorite guest?
Tom Hanks is absolutely charming, really funny and brilliant at what he does. He is so down to earth.

For something completely different, you have also launched Goodypass.com. Could you tell us about it?
It is a discount website that anyone can join. I have clubbed my friends together and asked them to pull in their perks and treats. Anyone can sign up to goodypass.com for free and take advantage of special offers that different celebrities have arranged. I am now having to be rather grown up and go to business meetings for it. It is lovely to have my own project though.

How do you juggle being a mum and having all these jobs?
Well the Daybreak hours are rubbish for young, single people who want to go out and party but quite useful for being a mum. I can pick my little girl up from school so it works well. At the moment there is no mum that is not juggling a million things.

*Kate Garraway's interview took place at The Lion and Unicorn theatre on The London Chat Show. For more information visit www.londonchatshow.com

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