Presenter and broadcaster Kate Garraway has announced that her husband, Derek Draper, has died. Derek had been facing ongoing health complications after contracting coronavirus in 2020 – something Kate has documented on social media and spoken about publicly in recent years. Kate Garraway's husband was 56 years old when he died.
Derek was said to be one of the UK's longest-suffering Covid patients and spent 13 months in hospital after contracting the virus in March 2020. In December 2023, Derek was hospitalised after suffering a heart attack and was unable to recover. His battle with his health was documented in a documentary, Kate Garraway: Finding Derek.
Kate confirmed that he was surrounded by his family during his final days.
In her Instagram post announcing his death, Kate wrote: 'I’m sad to have to tell you all that my darling husband Derek has passed away. As some of you may know he has been critically ill following a cardiac arrest in early December which, because of the damage inflicted by Covid in March 2020, led to further complications.
'Derek was surrounded by his family in his final days and I was by his side holding his hand throughout the last long hours and when he passed. I have so much more to say, and of course I will do so in due course, but for now I just want to thank all the medical teams who fought so hard to save him and to make his final moments as comfortable and dignified as possible.'
The former GMTV presenter added, 'Sending so much love and thanks to all of you who have so generously given our family so much support. Rest gently and peacefully now Derek, my love, I was so lucky to have you in my life.'
How many children did Derek Draper and Kate Garraway have?
Kate Garraway's husband Derek was a former political adviser and and lobbyist. The couple got married in 2005 and have two children together, Darcey and Billy. Fortunately, the couple and their children were able to celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary in September. Kate previously wrote on Instagram that she was 'so glad' he had survived to see it.