Kate Garraway sat out her Smooth FM show this morning as she she continues to stay by the bedside of stricken husband Derek Draper.
The TV favourite is set to spend Christmas in hospital supporting him after the former lobbyist suffered a heart attack which has left him fighting for his life. The 56-year-old has been seriously ill since contracting coronavirus in the early days of the pandemic three years ago.
In a terrible blow to the long-suffering family, Derek is now back in hospital and Good Morning Britain host Kate, also 56, has cancelled her work commitments to be keep a vigil by his hospital bed. She was replaced on her popular 10am morning show by Tina Hobley as Jenni Falconer announced the switch with Kate continuing to tend to her husband.
(
PA)
A source close to the family said: “Derek suffered a massive heart attack which has left him fighting for his life all over again. It was sudden and a shock as he had been doing well and was in great spirits, looking forward to Christmas at home with the family. We just hope there will be some more positive news soon as he has been in such a long and tough battle with his health. Kate’s only focus right now is Derek and her family.”
Derek previously spent 13 months in hospital, making him Britain’s longest suffering Covid-19 victim. Back in October, Kate – who has daughter Darcy, 17, and son Billy, 14, with Derek – revealed her husband was not doing well and his health battle had left him with long-lasting organ damage and requiring 24/7 care at home.
(
Tony Ward/REX/Shutterstock)
Since he contracting Covid, Derek has needed round-the-clock care because of the major organ damage he suffered. In December 2021 the family were able to enjoy a rare trip outside with Derek as they attended a pantomime at Richmond Theatre in West London. But things haven’t been easy since he returned home.
Speaking to Good Housekeeping, she said: “I’d love to be able to tell you that, since Derek has been home, everything has been easy, that the miracle of him being at home has turned the day-to-day challenges into a breeze. But because we keep having emergency setbacks and he’s had to be rushed back into hospital so many times, the fear of him dying has never left us. The unpredictability of his day-to-day condition means we are living on a rollercoaster.”
She has also had to pay for round-the-clock carers and physios as he remained bed bound for much of the time. Derek’s plight has also been the subject of two critically acclaimed ITV documentaries fronted by Kate.
