INTERVIEW BY DECCA AITKENHEAD

Kate Garraway: Derek’s funeral was like an out-of-body experience

The TV presenter’s husband died in January after contracting Covid in 2020 — and she faces a debt of up to £800,000 for his care. She hopes a documentary will highlight the nightmare faced by other carers

Derek Draper was one of the first people in Britain to contract Covid-19. His widow Kate Garraway has documented the effects of the virus on him and their family
Derek Draper was one of the first people in Britain to contract Covid-19. His widow Kate Garraway has documented the effects of the virus on him and their family
JAMES GOURLEY/ITV/REX
The Sunday Times

Kate Garraway’s last conversation with her husband, Derek Draper, was over a transatlantic phone line in early December. The ITV presenter was about to fly out to collect him from a pioneering brain cell clinic in Mexico, where his neural pathways showed “massive” improvement following treatment. He told her he was looking forward to a visit back in London from two old friends, and Garraway was thrilled. For nearly four years, he had not felt up to seeing friends.

“We were in a very different place, health-wise, from the year before — and it felt like the happiest place,” she tells me. “We had more of Derek back. We always knew his injuries could take him, but it all felt so positive at that point,