Good Morning Britain presenter Kate Garraway has been honoured in Aberdeen – having one of the city’s gritters named after her.
The presenter was left smiling on this morning’s show when she discovered Aberdeen City Council had named a gritter Kate Gritaway.
She joked and said it was “the most exciting moment of my life”.
The idea came about after GMB reporter Nick Dixon visited the Tullos depot on Thursday morning to have a look a the council’s fleet of gritters.
The hard-working team have been flat-out this week, treating the city’s icy roads and pavements as the cold weather took hold.
While reporting on the work the council carries out, Mr Dixon noticed the gritter’s amusing names – which were chosen by primary school pupils following a competition in 2019, and include The Gritest Showman and Spreadie Eddie.
Mr Dixon noticed one of the gritters had been left nameless and viewers suggested giving it Kate Gritaway as a title.
'I bet it doesn't cause any mess!'
Introducing Kate Gritaway! 😂
Thank you @AberdeenCC!
What would @benshephard and @CharlotteHawkns gritter lorries be called? pic.twitter.com/RnaSrgRo7M
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) March 10, 2023
Garraway impressed by Gritaway
Aberdeen City Council were quick to respond and today revealed the gritter’s new calling card to Mrs Garraway’s delight.
“This really is it now”, she said.
“Is that real or is that our graphics department? That is unbelievable.”
Mrs Garraway along with her co-presenter Ben Shephard both agreed that spotting a gritter’s name while stuck in traffic was a fun experience.
After seeing her gritter namesake, Mrs Garraway didn’t take long to heap on some praise.
“I bet it is really efficient. I bet it never causes any mess. It is everything I want to be”, she said.
Mr Shephard added that it was keeping people safe too.
Aberdeen City Council co-leader recently praised the gritting team for their hard work to deliver the thousands of tonnes needed.
During a particularly frosty day in January, A&E admissions across the north-east were five times higher than usual.
A chilly minus 5c when I arrived at the Gritting depot in Aberdeen this morning – the staff had already spread 100 tonnes of grit by then 🧊⛄️ @GMB pic.twitter.com/Ks5qpqUbkV
— Nick Dixon (@NickDixonITV) March 9, 2023
But Mrs Garraway said she is keen to learn more about her newfound gritter companion.
She told the show: “I want to find out what department did this. I want to speak to them.”
Mr Shephard encouraged viewers to get involved asking anyone who sees Kate Gritaway on the streets of Aberdeen in action to send in photos.
An Aberdeen City Council spokeswoman said: “Good Morning Britain came up do live broadcasts of our gritters early on Thursday morning as we do 24/7 cover of the city’s primary routes – the main roads which are about 50% of the city’s entire roads network.
“It was jokingly suggested we name one of the gritters after Kate Garraway and we are delighted to help – it was snow worries to do.”
Conversation