Renée Zellweger comforted Kate Garraway over the loss of her husband in an emotional Good Morning interview. 

The American actress, 55, spoke candidly with Kate, 57, about the upcoming romcom film, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, which Renée stars in.

It follows Bridget as a widowed single mother-of-two as she navigates dating again and will be released in cinemas on February 14. 

Kate discussed similarities between her own life and the film, after recently ‘losing her husband, becoming a single mum, raising two kids on her own’.

Derek sadly pᴀssed away in January last year aged 56 after a four-year battle with Covid.

The presenter asked Renée how she gets into character and if she ‘taps into a personal loss.’

Kate Garraway, left, talking with Renée Zellweger on Good Morning Britain

Renée Zellweger comforted Kate as she mentioned the loss of her late husband, Derek Draper

Renée Zellweger at a premiere for Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy earlier this month

Renée responded by comforting Kate, acknowledging that the death of her husband must still be ‘very raw’.

She said: ‘First of all, I am sorry. I am really sorry. That’s very fresh, and sad, so it’s probably still very raw for you… 

‘You feel like your cells change and it’s really hard to explain that to somebody that hasn’t been through it… So certainly I am familiar with that.’

As to how Renée handles playing the iconic character, she added: ‘With respect to Bridget, it was sort of an exploration of what that might look like for her. 

‘She’s never deterred or defeated, she’s always looking forward and finding a way, even though things don’t always work out according to plan.’

Back in December, Kate fought back tears on Good Morning Britain as she opened up about her first Christmas without her late husband.

GMB host Ranvir asked Kate how she was feeling, to which Kate said: ‘It’s our first Christmas without him.

Kate with her parents and husband Derek after being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2023

Kate wearing a blue, patterned suit at The Broadcast Awards on February 5

‘I’ve been talking to Andi Peters, who lost his mum, warned me that Christmas is the hardest time. I think this one will be particularly hard.

‘We’re lucky that I have family around me – my brother, distracting.

You do feel grief, that’s the point, you have memories of previous years.

‘We’re lucky enough to still have had him over the four or five years.’

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.