Kate’s ‘bubble of sadness’
Kate Garraway’s husband is now Covid-free and out of a coma, but the GMB presenter warns any celebrations are premature…
Tuning in to GMB last week, viewers were delighted to see a familiar face on the sofa. Kate Garraway had returned to work, after three months, but talking candidly to Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid, she admitted her husband, Derek Draper, is still fighting the after-effects of Coronavirus.
‘ Wonderfully, his eyes are opening,’ she began, ‘ but we have no real knowledge of what he can see, hear and feel. They are no longer keeping him in a coma – but he sort of can’t wake up...It’s a desperate situation. It’s very, very difficult.
‘There’s fantastic hope that he’s still alive. The doctors say it’s a miracle but one of them told me that Derek is as sick as anyone he has seen in 35 years.’
Kate, who is back on the show this Monday and Tuesday, was clearly delighted to see her co-hosts.
‘I’m back. It’s emotional. As soon as I walked in I thought, “I’m going to cry now", she revealed. ‘It’s like coming out of a little bubble of sadness.’
It was at the end of March that Derek, 52, was rushed to hospital, where he still remains. And it was his medical team who urged Kate that it was time for her to get back to the GMB studios.
‘The doctors are telling me, “You’ve got to get on with life”. For Darcey and Billy have, effectively, lost their dad… he’s not a presence in the way he should be in our lives.
‘I just thought, “Come on, Garraway, you’ve got to get back into things, you’ve got to cope…”’
So while Kate, 53, is presenting from the studios with Ben Shephard – covering for Piers and Susanna, who are taking a summer break – of course, her heart will be at the hospital with Derek.
‘Six times they said he’s not going to make it,’ she admitted. ‘The problem is, Coronavirus is a new disease. So what they can say to me is, “It’s great that there are some flickers of hope”. But they don’t know how much better he can get.’
Kate went on to say that she’d been overwhelmed by support from friends old and new, including some A-list stars who have been moved by her situation. ‘People have been incredibly lovely. David Beckham sent some video clips for the children. Elton John contacted me and said, “What can I do to help?’”
Asked what she wanted people to do to help, she said ‘Treat me as normal, be a bit rude, take the mick… I think that’s part of it. Derek is a huge believer in laughing.
‘ We’ll never give up – and I know the NHS will never give up,’ she continued, adding finally: ‘ Where there is life there is hope.’
‘Darcey and Billy have effectively lost their dad’