Sofa-hopeful Kate Garraway's 30-minute makeover

Millions of viewers know presenter Kate Garraway as the glamorous face of early morning TV.

But the star, who is currently vying to take over from Fiona Phillips on the famous GMTV sofa, looked a far cry from her usual picture of perfection when she popped into her local salon.

Kate Garraway takes to the hairdesser's chair after she arrives at a salon make-up free - and sporting heavy bags under the eyes

The 41-year-old presenter gets to work on her make-up

The 41-year-old showed the strain of her early mornings as she arrived at the north London salon sporting heavy bags under her eyes.

While her hairdresser got to work on her tresses, Ms Garraway busied herself with her make-up. But one area given unwanted attention was her fingernails - the presenter constantly bit them as she underwent her treatment.

The mother-of-one is waiting in the wings at GMTV to see if she gets the prized job of anchor, currently held by Fiona Phillips who recently announced her departure from the morning show.

Something on your mind? Kate Garraway appears pensive as she bites away at her nails

Ms Garraway has been at GMTV for eight years and is widely expected to be given Phillips's job.

The two entered into a war of words after Ms Phillips gave an interview in which she accused Ms Garraway of courting celebrity and turning up to the opening of an envelope.

Pretty woman: Kate leaves her home looking normal but she looked a nail-biting mess during the salon visit

Ms Phillips later moved to quell the brewing storm by saying: 'People pick on ladies and say they don't get on and it's just not true. I know what you are referring to but it is a pack of untruths.

'In fact Kate and I phone each other up the weekend it was in and laughed about it.'

Perfection: Kate with make up

People should celebrate women with children still working and doing things. All they want to say is catfights in the corridors.'

GMTV's Fiona Phillips laughs off war of words with Kate Garraway

GMTV presenter Fiona Phillips appears to be regretting speaking quite so freely about her colleague Kate Garraway following the announcement of her decision to quit the famous breakfast sofa.

As last night on Al Murray's chatshow she made a spectacular U-turn when Murray broached the subject of how well she and Kate got on.

In an appearance on comic Al Murray's The Pub Landlord Show, she backtracked on comments made in her first interview since making public her decision to leave.

Fiona Phillips laughed off the war of words with Kate Garraway as she backtracked on comments she made last week about her GMTV colleague

Fiona said: 'Where do I start with this? You wouldn't say that about you and big
Bob, or him(Phil Collins) and Mike Rutherford.

'But people pick on ladies and say they don't get on and it's just not true. I know what you are referring to but it is a pack of untruths.

'In fact Kate and I phone each other up the weekend it was in and
laughed about it.'

'People should celebrate women with children still working and doing things. All they want to say is catfights in the corridors.'

No catfight: The GMTV presenter denied any problems between her and Kate and said they both laughed off the reports

Fiona television appearance contrasted greatly with the comments she made last week which started the row when she accused Kate of courting celebrity, and going to the opening of an envelope.

She added that Kate would be quite pleased at the newsof her departing GMTV, and said that regarding taking her place Kate would be 'lying if she said she didn’t want it.'

While Kate is said to be lobbying furiously for the soon to be vacant spot on the GMTV sofa, it appears she's also taking style tips from outgoing presenter Fiona.

The ambitious presenter attended the TV Quick and TV Choice Awards on Monday night wearing the very same frock that her rival Fiona modelled in her first interview since her resignation.

Seeing double: GMTV presenter Kate Garraway is vying for Fiona Phillips' place on the sofa and turned up at the TV Quick awards in her rival's Reiss dress

Kate wore the body-hugging electric blue dress, £159 from high street store Reiss, days after Fiona, and a source from the show said: 'A GMTV stylist tipped Kate off about the dress.

'It seems that he gave the same advice to Fiona without thinking they would both go out and buy it.

'Obviously both Fiona and Kate have a lot in common, including good taste. It really is just a coincidence.'

Last night Murray dubbed Fiona the Queen of TV, to which she answered: 'They'll get another queen it's alright. Kelly Osbourne is 50-1, Lily Allen been mentioned.

'I think I'd watch them in the morning. I'd set my alarm to watch them.

'No one is irreplaceable.'

But she poured cold water on rumours that Ulrika Jonsson might take her place.

'She's brilliant, she was in last week on the sofa and said this
really suits me.

'But she has got four children so she doesn't want that.'

Kate Garraway faces outcry over provocative photoshoot which 'shows' her breastfeeding calf

Crouched next to a calf which she pretends to breast-feed, Kate Garraway presents an unsettling image.

The GMTV presenter posed for the provocative picture to promote a documentary on women who breast-feed other people's babies.

Kate Garraway has sparked controversy after posing for a provocative photo-shoot in which it appears she is breastfeeding a calf

'I'm on a journey to find people who believe milk has to be from the breast, people who buy it, sell it, people who give it away and people who even feed each other's babies,' said the 41-year-old.

'To many this might seem weird, but they challenge us that it's actually much weirder to give our babies cows' milk than it is to drink milk from another woman.'

For the programme, Miss Garraway met sisters who cross-feed their babies and surrogate mothers who produce two gallons a week for donation.

The TV presenter posed for the pictures to promote a documentary about women who breastfeed other people's babies

The mother-of-one said she wanted to make people stop and think about whether it's crazy to feed milk from another species

The presenter said she would not have wanted anyone else to feed her daughter, two.

'That bond was really emotionally important to me. I would never have been able to let someone else breast-feed her in a million years.'

But those who allowed others to breast-feed their children went some way to change her prejudices.

'I'd gone into the film thinking, "Why are they doing it? Is it because it's easier than breast-feeding themselves?".

Garraway dancing with Anton Du Beke on Strictly Come Dancing

They threw it back and said, "No, we're not doing it for convenience, we're doing it totally in the interests of the child, and we're prepared to sacrifice our ego of having that role"'.

If she could not breast-feed a second child she would buy human milk from a bank, she said.

Other People's Breast Milk, one in a series of female-led documentaries, will be broadcast on Channel 4 on September 9.

Bond: Garraway in the GMTV studios with her daughter Darcey in 2006

Kate Garraway piles on the pounds after returning to GMTV sofa

After dropping two dress sizes during training for reality show Strictly Come Dancing, Kate Garraway's return to the GMTV sofa appears to have coincided with a growth in the blonde presenter's girth.

Kate was seen leaving work this week looking somewhat rounder than she has for some time.

Her participation in Strictly Come Dancing involved hours of energetic dance training, which is in stark contrast to her day job which is far more leisurely.

And as a result of the daily dance workouts she dropped from a size 12 to a trim size 8-10.

Larger than life: Kate cuts a plumper figure as she leaves GMTV's studios in London earlier this week

However, following her exit from the show last year fitness is again low on the agenda.

Kate said at the time: "I'm now an 8-10 rather than a 12. My muscles are unbelievably toned and taut. I don't think my bottom has ever been so trim.

"Maybe that come from six weeks of being told to dance like a hooker!"

She also admitted that she had low fitness levels before training started, to add to the lack of dance experience, which suggests she no lover of a daily gym workouts.

Now and then: A fuller Kate, left, earlier this week, has piled on the pounds compared to last year's Strictly Come Dancing heyday

But with a full seven-hour day at work, starting at 2.30am when she leaves home to present from the GMTV sofa, and 18-month-old daughter Darcey, maybe a two-hour workout is not high on her list of priorities.

During the show Kate admitted her newfound body confidence had encouraged her to flaunt her new figure for husband Derek.

She even planned to seduce him by wearing nothing more than a fur coat.

She said: "I saw a film once. This woman went to meet her lover in a delicatessen at midnight wearing just a fur coat – nothing underneath," she confided.

"I thought it was unbelievably sexy. I'd love to do something like that."

Kate Garraway makes fun of herself in her Christmas video

Nice to see that Kate Garraway has not taken her roasting by the Strictly Come Dancing judges too much to heart.

The GMTV television presenter has sent herself up in a hilarious Christmas video which she is sending out to friends instead of cards.

In the video, Kate - dressed as a fairy, above - performs a pirouette on top of a Christmas tree under the direction of her Strictly dance partner Anton du Beke.

Kate makes fun of herself in her Christmas video

Needless to say, the video, which can be viewed at flowvideo.co.uk shows 39-year-old Kate losing her footing and toppling to the bottom of the tree.

"On Strictly, I suffered several injuries but none as extreme as this," a bruised and battered Kate tells me.

Dancing queen: Kate with partner Anton du Beke