Ben Shephard spoke out about Kate Garraway's absence on Good Morning Britain on Thursday, after she pulled out of the show to be by her husband Derek Draper's hospital bedside.
Former political lobbyist Derek, 54, is "seriously unwell" in hospital as he battles the long-lasting effects from his 2020 battle with coronavirus.
Derek was left with clots in his lungs, holes in his heart, suffering from multiple organ failure and became diabetic after he contracted Covid in March 2020.
On Thursday's show, Kate, 55, was replaced by Charlotte Hawkins and the presenters took a moment to send their well wishes to their much-loved co-star.
Ben said: "We are missing a member of the team, aren’t we? Kate's not here. She’s taking some time out to be with Derek at the moment so we’re sending her lots of love.
"Lots of you have been in touch with messages of support, so we wish him well. Thank you for those messages, we’ll definitely pass them on.
"You know how much Kate appreciates all the support that she gets and fingers crossed Derek will be home as soon as possible."
Fans of the show took to Twitter to also send their well wishes.
One wrote: "hello Kate from Cumbria. I pray Derick will recover from this attack of Covid , May you all have peace in your hearts and strength in your spirits!!!!! Wishing you a speedy recovery Derek".
Another viewer added: "sending love and hugs".
Derek is the worst affected living Covid patient in the UK after spending 13 months in hospital. He first contracted the virus at the beginning of 2020.
He has been unable to fully communicate and has issues with mobility and has struggled with major health problems.
A source close to the family told the Mirror Derek is "seriously unwell", but the family know he is in the best hands.
They added Kate was putting all her energy into caring for him which meant she couldn’t host GMB as normal this week and needed to concentrate on Derek.
They said: "Derek is back in hospital in a very serious condition but the family knows he is in the best hands.
"Kate is doing everything she can for her husband. He comes first and so work will have to take a back seat this week."
While an ITV spokesperson added: "Kate is taking some time off work over the next few days, and is hoping to be back to her normal presenting duties as soon as possible."
