Kate Garraway heartache as she admits husband Derek Draper's future is "incredibly uncertain"

Kate Garraway
(Image credit: Getty)

Kate Garraway heartache as she reveals husband Derek Draper's future is "incredibly uncertain"

Kate Garraway heartache after she revealed husband Derek Draper's future is "incredibly uncertain".

The Good Morning Britain host, who revealed last week she is writing a book about Derek's harrowing Covid battle, has been living on tenterhooks for the last 10 months as she awaits updates from the hospital.

After revealing a heartbreaking change in her husband over Christmas, Kate has once again given viewers a difficult update on Derek's condition, which has seen him "ravaged" by the virus.

Kate, who has two children daughter, Darcey, 14, and son Billy, 11, with Derek, heartbreakingly revealed that she has to be careful of not “running away with hope” about Derek’s recovery as the prognosis is “incredibly uncertain”.

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Speaking to co-stars Susanna Reid and Piers Morgan about how "unbearable" her first-ever family Christmas without her husband of 15 years, Derek, 53, by her side was, “It’s been a strange time. I feel like I was physically at the end of my tether and I sort of had to regroup a bit,” Kate said.

She went on to give a bleak update on his recovery, and explained, "Derek is still ravaged by the effects of covid [since] way back in March. His recovery is incredibly uncertain. I’m trying to look for new things and new ways, talking to doctors about what we can do for him."

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And she empathised with the new strain of the virus which is taking many more lives.

She added, "Meanwhile, people are still dying, extraordinary numbers of people who aren’t older, who haven’t got underlining symptoms and it is just unbearable.”

Piers, 55, tried to give some hope to ease Kate Garraway's heartache when he reminded her that “miracles do happen,” but she revealed that Derek is unlikely to get better. “They said the chance of Derek’s survival was next to nothing and that he’d probably die, but I thought some people are surviving so why not Derek,” she said.

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Co-host Susanna Reid then paid tribute to her friend, saying, “What I think is so inspiring is we know the hell that you are going through but you still turn up all of the time, you’re always just you. You’ve still got a smile, it’s a joy to interact with you and a lot of people think, ‘How can she maintain that?’”

But Kate is looking to help others who are suffering by sharing her story. She said, “While my experience of covid is an extreme/extraordinary one, I am only too aware that this virus has impacted every single one of us. We are all going through this, to a greater or lesser degree. By telling the story of Derek’s illness and how it has altered our lives, I hope to be able to reach out to others who are suffering."

Selina Maycock
Senior Family Writer

Selina is a Senior Family Writer for GoodtoKnow and has more than 16 years years of experience. She specialises in royal family news, including the latest activities of Prince George, Charlotte, Louis, Archie and Lilibet. She also covers the latest government, health and charity advice for families. Selina graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2006 with a degree in Journalism, and gained her NCTJ and NCE qualifications. During her career, she’s also written for Woman, Woman's Own, Woman&Home, and Woman's Weekly as well as Heat magazine, Bang Showbiz - and the Scunthorpe Telegraph. When she's not covering family news, you can find her exploring new countryside walking routes, catching up with friends over good food, or making memories (including award-winning scarecrows!)