Kate Garraway says she’s prepared to quit Good Morning Britain to care for husband Derek Draper and reveals she video calls the hospital at dinner so they can eat as a family amid his Covid battle

• The GMB presenter, 53, has converted the ground floor of her home as the virus has damaged the 53-year-old former lobbyist’s muscles
• Viewers will be able to see the renovation work take place when the host’s documentary, Kate Garraway: Finding Derek, airs on Tuesday
• The TV star and former lobbyist Derek, also 53, share children Darcey, 15, and Billy, 11, and have been married since 2005 

Kate Garraway has revealed how she video calls her husband Derek Draper while having dinner with their children at home.

Speaking ahead of her ITV documentary airing on Tuesday, Kate told The Mirror that the family have done everything possible to keep him in involved during his hospital stay and  she thinks ‘the sounds of home’ must be ‘comforting’.

The TV presenter, 53, is also set to admit that she’d be willing to give up her role on Good Morning Britain to be her partner’s ‘primary carer’ if she needs too.     

Willing to quit: Kate Garraway has said she’s prepared to quit Good Morning Britain to care for husband Derek Draper (pictured on the ITV show)

The mother-of-two said: ‘I’ll prop the iPad up on the kitchen table and the three of us will have our tea and have Dad there. 

‘I feel that the sounds of home, even if it’s not directly talking at him, must be very comforting.’

In the upcoming emotional documentary, Derek will be seen recovering in hospital and watching his children Darcey, 15, and Billy, 11, as they live through lockdown.

Moving scenes are set to show him watching his children rehearse a dance routine and also see Billy complete and impressive Lego Star Wars Millennium Falcon  

Involved: The TV presenter, 53, detailed how during her husband’s year-long stay in hospital recovering from coronavirus the family have done everything possible to keep him updated on what’s happening and are hoping he’ll soon be home (the former lobbyist pictured in hospital)

Darcey and Billy also chat about their father’s illness and what they’re worried about for the future during the show.  

Darcey said: ‘It’s not really scary in the way he looks scary, it’s just scary in the way we might lose him.’ 

According to The Sun, Kate will also admit she’d give up working to look after her husband and help aid his recovery.

She said: ‘If I have to give up work to care for him it’s best to do it now. If he needs 24-hour care, I’ll be the primary carer. I’ve a fear of the reality. We’ll have to fall in love again a bit.’

Kate also chatted about her plans to bring Derek home to live with her with The Mirror, saying there’s some clinical arguments for moving him to a more ‘normal’ environment, and adding: ‘I’ve never loved Derek more or feared losing him more.’  

Strong family: Kate also said she video calls her husband Derek Draper while having dinner with their children at home so they can eat as a family (pictured with Darcey and Billy in 2019)

Although remaining positive for the future, Kate admitted there will be challenges to his care but that the more therapy and help he can get now, the better his long-term prognosis will be.   

It reported on Monday that the GMB star has already converted her home for Derek’s return. 

Kate has made their North London property wheelchair accessible and installed a hospital bed in the lounge as the virus has damaged the former lobbyist’s muscles.

Viewers will be able to see the renovation work take place when the Good Morning Britain star’s documentary, Kate Garraway: Finding Derek, airs on Tuesday.

The broadcaster transformed the ground floor of their house last year as she hoped the author would have recovered before the third lockdown, but sadly, his condition hasn’t improved and she hasn’t been able to see him since Christmas.   

Family: During the documentary, Derek is seen watching his children rehearse dance moves on FaceTime (pictured)

Kate shared an update on her long-term partner in an interview with The Mirror, admitting: ‘He has changed. Derek is physically very affected. His legs are like sticks, he has no muscle left. In terms of his movement, he’s physically affected.’ 

In a teaser clip from the programme, the TV star recalls the ‘devastating’ moment Derek told her he feared he couldn’t go on.  

Kate says it was ‘terrible’ to think he had reached such a low point as they spoke on the phone.

She confesses: ‘Derek had been drifting in and out of consciousness and when he said that, it was absolutely devastating, but it showed me he was still in there. Even though it was terrible to think his spirits were so low’. 

Kate also tells her husband he will get better with time, before he can eventually resume his old life. 

Changes: Kate has also converted her home for when Derek returns making it wheelchair accessible and putting a hospital bed in the lounge

Harrowing: In a teaser clip from the programme, the media personality recalls the ‘devastating’ moment Derek told her he feared he couldn’t go on

Emotional: Another glimpse at the documentary, which airs on Tuesday, shows Kate holding her head in her hands during the tough time

Fans will later see Kate vowing to save Derek as she helped to bring him back from his darkest point back in November.  

The TV star explained to The Mirror that she had to go to GMB after being up all night with Derek.  

She said: ‘And in the end, I said to him, ‘Just stay with me, I’m going to keep talking to you’. And he was obviously exhausted. Because that’s the other thing, is that the tiniest thing completely exhausts him.’

The ITV star spoke to Derek on the drive into work that day and then told the doctor’s to put on Good Morning Britain so he could see her.

 Long-term: The TV star and psychotherapist Derek, also 53, share children Darcey, 15, and Billy, 11, and have been married since 2005 (pictured in 2008)

While Covid is no longer in Derek’s system, the virus left him battling kidney failure, liver failure, heart failure and damage to his pancreas. 

The journalist first invited a crew into her home last September with the hope that the film would end with him returning home.

But seven months later, the show will instead focus on his stint in hospital as well as the many months of recovery that are left.

The psychotherapist has lost eight stone, with Kate claiming he will behave differently.

However, she believes his comeback may be a ‘beautiful thing’ as they will have the chance to fall in love all over again. 

Tragic: While Covid is no longer in Derek’s system, the virus left him battling kidney failure, liver failure, heart failure and damage to his pancreas (Kate pictured in the programme)

During an appearance on The One Show last Thursday, the media personality said her spouse is ‘trapped in the middle ground’ as he is sometimes able to communicate with her before slipping out of consciousness. 

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.

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

His rock: Fans will later see Kate vowing to save Derek as she helped to bring him back from his darkest point back in November 

Derek is considered to be the longest surviving COVID-19 patient in the country, and on more than one occasion his heart stopped beating, he battled bacterial pneumonia and fought multiple infections which punctured holes in his lungs.

She previously 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 hold 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. 

‘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.’

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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