Kate Garraway thanks viewers as she deals with ‘raw pain’ of Derek Draper’s death

Kate Garraway has said she is living with the “raw pain of grief” after the death of her husband, Derek Draper.

On Friday, the Good Morning Britain presenter announced that Draper, a former political adviser, had died at the age of 56 nearly four years after contracting Covid.

He was said to be one of the UK’s longest-suffering Covid patients,  spending 13 months in hospital after testing positive in March 2020.

He was discharged but had to be re-admitted several times over the past four years. His health deteriorated after he suffered a cardiac arrest in December.

In a message to Good Morning Britain viewers, Garraway said: “Thank you so much for all the wonderful messages that you have sent me. It really does mean so much to me, Darcey, Billy and all of Derek’s family.

“They are an extraordinary comfort, and I’m so lucky to feel connected to you all through these messages at this time when the raw pain of grief can be so isolating.”

She added: “And that is the wonderful thing, isn’t it, about our Good Morning Britain family? That all of us on the team and all of you watching from home are connected, supporting each other through the challenges of life, knowing that we can also laugh at the fun and joys together that we share too.

“I am certain that it is the support that you have given me and sent to Derek that has sustained us through these tough nearly four years, motivating us to fight on for each other and for those who can’t fight for themselves, and it will sustain us to continue that fight in the weeks and months and years to come.

“I hope you forgive me for taking some time to be at home. My family is so grateful that we could be with our dearest Derek in his final moments – something not all get to share.

“Maybe you too are going through grief yourself, or have done in the past. I send love and support for you too.

“We are taking time to heal ourselves now that Darcey and Billy know their Daddy is at peace and free from pain and struggle. I shall be thinking of you all until we are reunited very soon. In the meantime, hug your loved ones close. All my love, Kate.”

Garraway’s fellow GMB stars Susanna Reid, Ben Shephard and Charlotte Hawkins, the former prime minister Sir Tony Blair and musician Sir Elton John were among those to pay tribute to Draper and offer their support to Garraway.

The couple had been married since 2005, and in 2021 Ms Garraway won a prize at the National Television Awards for the documentary Finding Derek, about her family’s experience during the pandemic. It detailed his treatment and subsequent return to their family home.

It was followed by Caring For Derek, which showed the “myriad challenges of the social care system and its complexities” when Draper returned home. A third ITV documentary had been planned.

On Monday’s Good Morning Britain, Dr Hilary Jones recalled the moment that Garraway had expressed concern about Draper’s breathing in 2020, saying he “ran out of puff” in eight seconds.

He said: “Most people can hold their breath for a minute, some much longer than that, and it was clear to me immediately that he needed hospitalisation, so I said to Kate: ‘You need to call the ambulance now.’ They were both quite stoical. They hadn’t panicked.

“They called me, which I was very happy that they did. I said ‘But he does need to be assessed’.

“There was no doubt at all that he needed to be hospitalised. He was almost immediately sent to intensive care.

“He clearly had a very weakened organ system from day one, not just his lungs. So this affected his nervous system, it was affecting his circulation, it was affecting his pancreas, and, clearly, subsequent months and years were the result of his body being so damaged by the acute infection.”

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