Kate Garraway has extended her break from Good Morning Britain after her husband Derek Draper's health took a 'serious turn'.
The presenter's husband, who has been suffering long-term effects after contracting Covid in 2020, has been readmitted to hospital.
Kate has stepped down from the ITV daytime show for the second week running to stay by Derek's side as she cares for him and their family.
Fellow presenters Ben Shephard and Lorraine Kelly sent their well wishes to the courageous star when she missed a few shows last week.
And now, it has been reported that Kate has extended her break and won't appear on Thursday or Friday's episodes this week.
A spokesperson for ITV confirmed: "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."
Former political advisor 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.
The dad-of-two returned home but has been unable to fully communicate and has issues with mobility and has struggled with major health problems.
One source close to the family recently told The Mirror he was “seriously unwell” and that Kate was putting all her energy into caring for him which meant she couldn’t host GMB as normal.
They added: “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.”
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Since Derek became ill, Kate has intrepidly balanced her work and family commitments - including looking after their two children Darcey, 16, and Billy, 12.
She has also become a full-time carer to Derek but said recently that she's tried to remain positive.
He had a brief hospital stint earlier this month, which Kate described as a "bit of a downturn" but said that she was keeping her "fingers crossed".
Kate said at the time: "He's back in hospital I'm afraid so a bit of a downturn but fingers crossed.
"In terms of COVID, I mean when Derek got COVID there was no vaccine there was no treatment there was a lot of challenges, now we have those things so on that level yes it's not gone away."
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