Good Morning Britain host Kate Garraway swapped her weekday shifts with Charlotte Hawkins so she could celebrate her husband's birthday and be surrounded by her loved ones while he is in intensive care.
But that was not the only gift Charlotte gave Kate, as Kate revealed upon her return to the show on Wednesday.
"Thanks to Charlotte for swapping with me," Kate said.
"But Charlotte bought me a rose bush, she is a bit of a creep," she joked to co host Adil Ray.
"And we just send you text messages!" laughed Adil.
Fighting back tears, Kate went on: "But she bought me a rose bush, which is named 'The rose of hope', which is really sweet, and it actually came into flower on Saturday on Derek's birthday."
"Beautiful," remarked Adil.
"I know, it was very sweet, so thank you Charlotte," said Kate.
"It's great seeing a plant bloom," Adil said
"It is, although it's quite poignant, because we planted loads of plants, Darcey did when Derek was first ill," Kate replied.
"And they have come and gone, and we are picking tomatoes that we grew from the seed, it's amazing how nature helps you mark the passage of time, and it's therapeutic in a way.
"Because you plants things, and you say, 'Let's plant these, and when dad's better next year he can see them come up'.
"We have been trying to keep things moving forward, but it has helped I think."
Kate then apologised and promised to "cheer up in a minute".
Kate explained that she was able to celebrate Derek's birthday via a video call to him with his parents also virtually looped in.
They sang happy birthday to Derek, who remains in a minimally conscious state in intensive care after a horrific coronavirus battle left him in a medically-induced coma.
The family also ate birthday cake and tried their best to mark the day as a happy one, though Kate admitted it was "challenging".
She added that despite things being incredibly tough for their children Darcey and Billy, they were "doing brilliantly".
* Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV at 6am
