Kate Garraway reflected on her husband Derek Draper’s recovery from Covid-19 on the latest episode of ITV’s DNA Journey.
The documentary, which invites two celebrities to discover new truths about their ancestry and bloodline, featured Garraway and fellow presenter Alison Hammond.
Draper was hospitalised with Covid-19 in March 2020 and was later placed under a medically induced coma. After waking up several months later, he was discharged and able to go home in April 2021 – more than 12 months after he was first admitted.
He now receives 24-hour care at home, provided by Garraway and a team of healthcare professionals.
Opening up about the impact of the pandemic on her family, Garraway said: “2020 was a devastating year. With Derek, he got very sick very early on in the pandemic and has remained very damaged.”
“That is quite well documented because for a lot of people, he’s come to symbolise the fight that goes on.”
Garraway spoke of the love and support she had received during the difficult time from Hammond.
“Alison, she was messaging me to say she was thinking of me in that way,’ Garraway said.
In August this year, Garraway revealed that Draper had been readmitted to hospital after being diagnosed with “life-threatening” sepsis.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, the presenter explained her absence from the programme for three weeks.
“I dramatically disappeared and haven’t been here for three weeks now,” Garraway said.
“We were on air and Derek had come out of hospital, he’s been going in and out of hospital for a while for looking at ways to tackle the damage caused by Covid back in 2020,” Garraway said.
Draper and Garraway married in 2005 and have two children, Darcey and Billy.
Last December, Garraway received an MBE in the New Years Honours after she documented Draper’s recovery from Covid-19 in two documenteries.
