Kate Garraway reveals she was told husband Derek 'may have died' in awful hospital mistake

Kate Garraway
(Image credit: Getty)

Kate Garraway has spoken of her horror at being told her husband Derek Draper 'may have died', only to discover it had been an error.

The Good Morning Britain star has revealed the unexpected heartache she encountered.

Kate, 52, who is set to reveal her heartbreaking ordeal in an upcoming ITV documentary Finding Derek, has recalled the hours of agony she faced ahead of learning Derek's fate.

Speaking to The Times newspaper, the mum-of-two to daughter Darcey, 14, and son Billy, 11, revealed, "I was just sitting on the phone, waiting to know if he’d died or not."

Derek was admitted to the hospital last March with Covid-19. Kate had contacted ITV's Dr Hilary Jones for advice as Derek's symptoms worsened before he was rushed to the hospital. But he had to be placed in a medically induced coma on April 5 and he has suffered long-term effects ever since. Meanwhile, Kate has continued to juggle work and parenting their two children.

A photo posted by on

Speaking about the moment she was left wondering if her husband was died or not, Kate said she was told "He may have died. Somebody will call you back."

Kate had Derek's condition confirmed within a day - but spent hours agonising whether she would have to tell children Darcey and Billy that their dad Derek had tragically not made it.

She added, "Then it turned out that somebody had died who had a similar name to his."

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Kate previously spoke of her heartache at her husband being a changed man, after visiting him over the Christmas period. She also told viewers of her devastation at not being able to visit her husband with the ongoing lockdown restrictions.

Kate's new book The Power of Hope is available to pre-order now ahead of its release next month which aims to help other people in difficulty.

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!)