Kate Garraway reveals husband Derek is 'trapped' after Covid battle

‘He’s fighting to get out’: Kate Garraway reveals husband Derek Draper is ‘trapped’ after Covid battle as he has ‘moments of communication before sinking’ out of consciousness

  • Good Morning Britain presenter Kate’s husband Derek, 53, remains in ICU nearly a year after he was admitted to hospital with novel coronavirus   
  • While he no longer has coronavirus, the disease has left him suffering from multiple health conditions, including diabetes and holes in his heart and lungs 
  • The couple are parents to two children, daughter Darcey, 15, and son William, 11 
  • Kate, 53, was told by the hospital on numerous occasions that Derek might die
  • She said his health worsened ‘dramatically’ over Christmas as he continued to battle the myriad of complications arising from the devastating virus 

Kate Garraway has spoken out about her critically-ill husband Derek Draper, who remains in ICU nearly one year after he was admitted to hospital with coronavirus. 

The presenter, 53, appeared on The One Show on Thursday where she talked about her ITV documentary Finding Derek, which will give an ‘unflinching account’ of Derek’s battle over the past 12 months. 

Kate said Derek, 53, is ‘trapped in the middle ground’ as he is sometimes able to communicate with her before slipping out of consciousness. 

Her story: Kate Garraway talked about her critically-ill husband Derek Draper on The One Show on Thursday

Speaking to Alex Jones and Michael Ball, Kate spoke about the special one-off film, which will offer an ‘intimate insight’ into coping with the impact of Covid on her family, as well as meeting survivors of the disease. 

Kate said: ‘One of things I’m here to talk about is the documentary and what you will see is that this time last year, I was, like a lot of us, wondering what was coming our way.

‘I was fearing the worst, on air reading headlines about the earliest cases of people contracting coronavirus and then I suddenly found myself right in the middle of it.  

Tragic: Derek was admitted to hospital in March after contracting the respiratory illness and was subsequently placed in a medically induced coma before he awoke in July (pictured in hospital)

Covid: The presenter, 53, talked about her ITV documentary Finding Derek, which will give an ‘unflinching account’ of Derek’s battle

Worst nightmare:  ‘I’d say there was weeks and months of living minute by minute, wondering if I was going to get the call whether to say whether he lived or died,’ Kate said

‘And I’d say there was weeks and months of living minute by minute, wondering if I was going to get the call whether to say whether he lived or died.’ 

Kate went on to explain that while Derek has survived Covid, he is ‘trapped in the middle ground’. 

Derek was admitted to hospital in March after contracting the respiratory illness and was subsequently placed in a medically induced coma before he awoke in July.

The virus has wreaked havoc throughout his entire body, resulting in kidney failure, and liver and pancreatic damage.  

Devastating: Speaking to Alex Jones and Michael Ball, Kate spoke about the special one-off film and that while Derek has survived Covid, he is ‘trapped in the middle ground’

Heartbreaking: Kate said: ‘What I feel like is that I’m on a life boat somehow and he’s coming up and down. You’re on this precipice trying to holding onto him’


Brave: Kate was emotional as she discussed Derek’s battle with Covid

She said: ‘Derek is an extreme case, he has a prolonged disorder of consciousness which means that there is some reaction.

‘It’s not like what we see in movies where people are lying in a vegetative state, you know you can look at his eyes and before Christmas there was a lot of progress with some words and communication.’ 

Derek considered to be the longest surviving COVID-19 patient in the country. 

On more than one occasion his  heart stopped beating, he battled bacterial pneumonia and fought multiple infections which punctured holes in his lungs. 

Derek has regained minimal consciousness from his medically induced coma and while he has not been speaking, he heartbreakingly mouthed the word ‘pain’ in October last year. 

 Family: Kate and Derek (pictured in 2019) share two children Darcey and Billy together

Glimmer of hope: ‘There’ll be moments where he bubbles up and you have contact with him on FaceTime because of the Covid restrictions’, she said

Kate said: ‘What I feel like is that I’m on a life boat somehow and he’s coming up and down. You’re on this precipice trying to holding onto him. 

‘There’ll be moments where he bubbles up and you have contact with him on FaceTime because of the Covid restrictions. 

‘It feels like you’re going to have to fill him with so much positivity because he’s going to sink down.’ 

The GMB host said there will be ‘heartbreaking moments’ in the documentary, as when he does regain consciousness, viewers will see ‘what must be agony for him’. 

Kate continued: ‘His brain has always been his best friend. Suddenly his brain is no longer his best friend and he’s fighting to get out. 

‘It’s very, very tough. But if it’s tough for me, it must be tougher for him.’ 

Sad: Kate – who shares Darcey, 15, and William, 11, (pictured in 2019) with her husband of 15 years – admitted it is ‘shocking’ to see his current state, including his eight stone weight loss

Finding Derek will air on 23rd March, and will show Kate giving an ‘unflinching account’ on the past 12 months.  

ITV said in a statement: ‘Kate offers an unflinching account of the profound effects on her family and on others as she opens up on camera for the first time on the reality of the past 12 months.  

‘As Kate lays bare in the film, her family, along with many others who have suffered the effects of the virus, is now facing the reality of adjusting to a very different way of life to the one they lived before the pandemic hit.’

Kate – who shares children Darcey, 15, and William, 11, with her husband of fifteen years –  previously admitted it is ‘shocking’ to see his current state, including his dramatic eight stone weight loss.   

She said her husband’s current state is something from a ‘horror story,’ as she tries to come to terms with the possibility that his health battle could leave him suspended between life and death.

The star said to The Times: ‘The very worst moment was when they said he could be locked in forever. And I just thought, this is a horror story. I don’t know if he’ll ever have any kind of life again. We just don’t know.’     

Finding Derek: Kate is set to host the ITV special about her husband Derek’s battle with coronavirus, and the programme is set to air on 23rd March

A timeline of Derek’s coronavirus battle  

MARCH  2020

Kate revealed she and Prince Charles had got ‘relatively close’ at the Prince’s Trust Awards on March 11 – Charles was diagnosed with coronavirus in mid-March.  

She said: ‘Around the 29/30 March, I came home came in and said [to Derek] ‘god you look ill.’

‘He said he had a headache, numbness in his right hand, and was struggling to breathe,

‘I rang Dr Hilary (Jones) and tried to get through, he talked to Derek. He said put me back on, I think you need to call an ambulance’

Derek, 52, was taken into hospital on March 30 and remained in an unresponsive condition. 

APRIL  

Kate and her children isolated at home after she displayed ‘mild symptoms’.

Kate said: ‘Derek remains in intensive care and is still very ill. I’m afraid it remains an excruciatingly worrying time.

‘I’m afraid he is still in a deeply critical condition, but he is still here, which means there is hope.’ 

MAY 

Kate said: ‘The journey for me and my family seems to be far from over as every day my heart sinks as I learn new and devastating ways this virus has more battles for Derek to fight. 

‘But he is still HERE & so there is still hope.’

That month, Kate and her family took part in the final clap for carers

She said: ‘I’ll never give up on that because Derek’s the love of my life but at the same time I have absolute uncertainty’

JUNE 

On June 5, Kate revealed Derek is now free from coronavirus but continues to fight against the damage inflicted on his body

JULY 

On July 5, Kate revealed Derek has woken from his coma but he remains in a serious yet critical condition.

On July 8, she announced she would be returning to GMB, after being urged by doctors to ‘get on with life’ during Derek’s recovery.   

She added that Derek had ‘opened his eyes’ after waking from his coma, but has been told his recovery could take years.  

On July 13, Kate returned to GMB for the first time since Derek was hospitalised.    

On July 28, Kate revealed she’d paid an ‘extra emotional’ first visit to Derek, and admitted she’s ‘frustrated’ by his slow progress.

AUGUST

On August 14, Kate reassured GMB viewers that Derek was ‘still with us,’ but it was ‘a waiting game.’ 

On August 19, Kate revealed she celebrated Derek’s birthday with their two children, and described the day as ‘challenging’ for her family. 

 SEPTEMBER  

At the end of September, Derek reportedly becomes the longest surviving patient with coronavirus after spending 184 days in and out of intensive care.

Kate reveals Derek has lost eight stone during his battle.

The presenter announces she is returning to her Smooth Radio show so Derek can hear her voice. 

OCTOBER

On October 30 Kate reveals that Derek has spoken for the first time in seven months, saying the word ‘pain’ to his wife, who watched on ‘in tears’ over FaceTime. 

Kate says a day later that her husband no longer needs a ventilator to breathe. 

NOVEMBER 

Kate reveals her family car has been stolen in latest ‘body blow’ to her family life, as kind-hearted fans offer their cars to help.

She says she feels ‘physically sick’ at the prospect of facing her first Christmas without Derek.

DECEMBER 

The GMB star tells viewers it is her dream to visit Derek on Christmas Day.

She also reveals she missed two weeks on GMB after her children were exposed to the virus, but thankfully she and the kids tested negative.

On December 17, Kate has an emotional conversation live on GMB with two nurses who treated Derek when he was first admitted to Whittington Hospital in North London. 

On New Year’s Eve she reflects on a ‘calamitous’ Christmas without Derek, as her house was flooded and she struggled to get a food delivery slot until her pal Emma Willis stepped in to help.

JANUARY 2021

Kate reveals she and her children got to visit Derek in hospital over the Christmas period, and it was the first time her family had seen him since he was hospitalised.

She also says she’s banned from seeing him due to new restrictions introduced during the government’s third lockdown. 

FEBRUARY 

Kate reveals she is unsure how much Derek will ‘ever be able to recover’ following warning from doctors that he may never wake from his coma 

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