Kate Garraway has emotionally revealed her late husband Derek Draper felt like a ‘complete failure’ after being left bed-bound by his battle with Covid.
In a moving appearance on Good Morning Britain, the tearful presenter said that she ‘won’t give up’ her cause to shine a light on the underfunded care system, following Derek’s death in January.
On Tuesday, Kate Garraway: Derek’s Story, will air on ITV, chronicling the former political lobbyist’s final year of life before his death in January aged 56.
Joining Derek and Kate in May 2023, the film confronts head on the reality of Derek’s struggles and the effect on those around him while also capturing the sweet moments he spent with family and never-before-seen images and footage.
Kate told Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley that Derek requested they film the third documentary as he ‘wanted his voice to be heard’, and he felt like a ‘failure and a burden’ on his loved ones due to the extent of his care.
Kate Garraway has emotionally revealed her late husband Derek Draper felt like a ‘complete failure’ after being left bed-bound by his battle with Covid
On Tuesday, Kate Garraway: Derek’s Story, will air on ITV , chronicling the former political lobbyist’s final year of life before his death in January aged 56
In the film, the political lobbyist speaks on camera for the first time since being hospitalised with Covid in March 2020, leaving him incontinent, unable to walk and barely able to speak.
Kate said: ‘It started filming for Derek wanting his voice to be heard. The way you show love he couldn’t do.
‘He felt disempowered to show to love, he couldn’t communicate. We were having to relearn this dynamic. The love is still there but you have to grow together and that is why we needed that support.’
‘He left like a complete failure, a burden on us, on the carers. This documentary was his way of helping, of speaking up for others and the people who cared for him.’
Fighting back tears, Kate added: ‘I’m sad because I can’t walk away from something that I have campaigned for. I’ve had over 8,000 letters from people telling me not to give up.’
Kate went onto reveal she felt ‘ashamed’ of the huge debts she’s accrued to fund Derek’s care, adding: ‘It’s unaffordable for well-paid TV presenters like me, let alone normal people.
‘It was costing £26,000 a month for his basic needs. That wasn’t the carers getting that, they don’t get paid that money.’
‘I am ashamed at the fact that I am in debt because I have an incredible job that I love.’
Kate told Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley that Derek requested they film the third documentary as he ‘wanted his voice to be heard’
After a clip was played showing the full extent of his care, Kate said that Derek felt like a ‘complete failure’ due to his health struggles
Ahead of its broadcast, the documentary has been praised by critics for its ‘unavoidably sad’ portrayal of the politicial lobbyist’s final days.
Writing in The Guardian, Phil Harrison said: ‘An unavoidably sad concluding part to a trio of films. This documentary follows the final year in the life of the former political campaigner and psychotherapist Derek Draper, who struggled with long Covid for several years and died from complications in January.
‘By allowing intimate access, Draper and his wife, the journalist and Good Morning Britain presenter Kate Garraway, pointedly highlight the difficulties of people living with serious long-term illnesses.’
The Daily Mail’s Christopher Stevens noted that the documentary, which shines a light on the challenges of families caring for seriously ill loved ones, will be Derek’s ‘legacy’ following his death.
He added: ‘Through it all, Kate nursed a brittle optimism – celebrating what she calls ‘strawberry moments of positivity’. She talks about how hard it is to keep going when the person you love is unable to give love back in any conventional way.
‘When the little things are gone, only big things are left… and Kate Garraway has the opportunity to do something big in her husband’s memory.’
Writing in The Telegraph, Anita Singh explained that the documentary shows the ‘devastating consequences’ of Covid, after Derek himself contracted the disease in March 2020.
She added: ‘Draper was left unable to perform basic tasks and required round-the-clock care, as Garraway faced bureaucratic obstacles to secure an adequate care plan.
‘The documentary highlights the enormous cost of care and the postcode lottery on which it depends. The television presenter was paying almost £4,000 per week and estimates that, with the cost of rehabilitative therapies, the total bill was up to £800,000.’
In the documentary, Kate opens up about the crippling debt she accrued caring for husband Derek Draper, admitting she’s at ‘crunch point’.
She also Kate admits she didn’t ‘feel loved’ by her husband Derek as she opened up about their relationship.
In scenes from the upcoming documentary, Kate was asked is she ‘accepts you’ll have to care for him forever?’
She responded: ‘That bit yes I have accepted that completely. I think that’s our role. But how that translates into the relationship is a work in progress.’
Offering a heartbreakingly honest account of how Derek’s condition had impacted their 19-year marriage, she continued: ‘Sometimes you show love with a big bouquet of roses or bringing a cup of tea and he can’t do any of that for me.
‘So he’s trying to work out how to love me. I know he loves me but how does he show that?’
Admitting there are moments when she doesn’t ‘feel’ it from her husband, Kate added: ‘I’m trying to work out if I feel loved by him.
‘I know I am but we’ve got a whole journey there.’
Elsewhere in the documentary, Kate opened up about her heartbreak for Derek himself, sharing: ‘The tragedy for me is that it feels like his brain was his best friend and now it’s his worst enemy.’
Detailing a rough patch he was going through, Kate shared: ‘He has been very down.
‘Wondering about the future a lot of crying. ‘I’ve let everybody down and what is the meaning of life? what can I contribute?’
‘The thing that helps that is having that sense of purpose, remind him these things take time even if I don’t really know if that’s the answer.’
Kate’s late husband was plagued with health woes after contracting Covid in March 2020, which saw him put in a coma, battle sepsis and left with difficulties communicating.
Derek’s Story features him talking on camera for the first time since his health battle as he admitted: ‘I want to be heard.’
In another scene, Derek was writing in his bed as Kate watched on, with the Good Morning Britain presenter remarking his handwriting was ‘not as clear’ as before but recalling: ‘When I first saw you write your name I burst into tears. You’re still there.’
While Derek admitted he could feel an improvement in his health and their son Billy said he could ‘see the difference’, Kate confessed that she couldn’t allow herself to think about what this meant going forward.
She explained: ‘I don’t look forward to the future because every time I feel like this is really fantastic, and we’ve had some amazing moments, something terrible has happened.’
In the documentary, Kate admitted she didn’t ‘feel loved’ by her husband Derek as she opened up about their relationship
Kate also opened up about the crippling debt she accrued caring for Derek, admitting she’s at ‘crunch point’.
Faced with a debt of up to £800,000 Kate confessed: ‘Derek’s care costs more than my salary from ITV and that’s before you pay for a mortgage or household bills or anything for the kids – so that is a crunch point.
‘We are in debt and I can’t earn enough money to cover my debt because I’m managing Derek’s care.
‘I can’t even use the money I do have to support Derek’s recovery because it’s going to the basics all the time.
‘I’m not going to pretend I’m poorly paid but it’s not enough.
‘Time and time again the state tells us Derek is not sick enough to qualify for state funded care.
‘I’ve appealed but that still hasn’t been processed three years later. If this is what’s it like for me then what’s it like for everybody else?’
Kate continued: ‘Something has to be done or the whole service, the people working in it, everything is going to break.
‘We are entirely reliant on extraordinary carers but the system they work for is incredibly complicated and underfunded…
‘Why is it people get sick and it’s no longer considered the right thing for them to be in hospital, why does coming home feel like falling off a cliff?’
His limitations and his need for care was evident in the documentary, with the father-of-two breaking down in tears as he attempted to pull himself up onto a walking aide with the help of his mobility therapist.
Unable to stand, Derek burst into tears and labelled himself ‘pathetic’ in heartbreaking scenes.
Kate attempted to console him, insisting ‘it’s not pathetic, you’re absolutely trying’ and the strain on her face was also clear to see.
One sweet moment saw Kate task Derek with opening some of her birthday cards and reading out the messages for her, but even that simple action left Derek in need of rest.
Derek’s Story also reflects on Derek’s life before Covid, including his high-profile political career, and his relationship with Kate, revealing how illness impacted their 19-year marriage.
Speaking about why she set out to make the film, Kate shared: ‘Obviously when we started making this documentary early last year, we had no idea the events that would unfold that ultimately took Derek from us.
‘And in January 2024, after he had passed, I wondered if it was right that it should ever come to air.
‘But I didn’t want to let those who have given us so much support over the last four years down, and the carers paid and unpaid who in their thousands of letters to me, feel Derek’s story has given them a voice.’
Former Labour insider and psychotherapist Derek married presenter Kate in 2005 and they went on to welcome children Darcey 17 and Billy, 14.
In 2021, just over a year after contracting Covid, he was able to leave hospital and return to his family home in north London, with round-the-clock care.
In August 2022 he was taken to hospital with sepsis but pulled through. Then in early December 2023, Derek had a heart attack and was taken to hospital again.
Tragically, he wasn’t able to overcome the latest medical emergency and on January 5 Kate confirmed that Derek died.
In a post on social media, she said that her husband died surrounded by family and that she was ‘holding his hand throughout the last long hours’.
She said his Covid infection had left him with lasting damage to his heart which had led to ‘further complications’.
Kate also thanked the medical teams for making his final moments as ‘comfortable and dignified as possible.’
MailOnline understands Derek passed away on January 3 in a north London hospital.
Kate Garraway: Derek’s Story airs on on Tuesday at 9pm and will be available to stream on ITVX.
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