Kate Garraway has admitted she had to have a gut-wrenching conversation with her daughter just after her husband Derek Draper passed away.
The Good Morning Britain star, 56, confirmed the sad news that Derek, also 56, had died after a four-year battle with health issues. Draper had been debilitated following complications caused from contracting Covid at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.
Derek became the longest-suffering patient with Covid in the UK, living with the worst side effects of the virus. He tragically died last Wednesday (January 3) after suffering a cardiac arrest from which he never recovered.
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On Thursday (January 11), her ITV team paid tribute to Kate and her family as they mourned the loss of their loving father and husband. Host Ben Shephard had said that she had been in contact with Kate about what were the “next stages” following his death.
(Image: ITV)
He also recalled how Kate had to have a tough but sweet conversation with oldest daughter Darcey. As the family were in mourning, Kate realised she needed to go to the registry office to notify officials of Derek’s passing.
Speaking about his pal Kate, Ben said: “They are in the next stages of working out what happens. There’s a lot of admin to do when you lose someone and in that brilliant way yesterday, she said, ‘I have to go out to go and register the death.'”
Continuing on, he recalled: “She told Darcey, ‘I’m going to have to go out the house’, and Darcey said, ‘I know this is going to be really hard but can I make one suggestion?’ She says, ‘course you can darling’.
(Image: ITV)
“And then Darcey said, ‘Can you take the Christmas jumper off and can you brush your hair?'” Ben confessed that “the clocks stopped” for Kate and the family just before Christmas when Derek had suffered the heart attack and it was only recently that she has felt strong enough to move past it.
Shephard also said that Garraway has been blown away by the amount of support she received since she broke the news. He said that the reaction to Derek’s passing was “extraordinary” and paid tribute to his colleague and pal.
(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Ben added that he had been stopped in the street by viewers asking to pass on their condolences to Kate and the family. He insisted that Kate was grateful for every message of support and love, and wished to thank them all on her behalf.
Good Morning Britain airs every weekday at 6am on ITV1 and ITVX.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
