Derek Draper dead: Kate Garraway’s husband dies holding her hand aged 56 after three-year Covid battle
KATE Garraway’s husband tragically died holding her hand following a three-year battle with Covid, the presenter announced today.
Derek Draper, 56, was recently left fighting for life in hospital after suffering a massive heart attack.
Kate revealed she held Derek’s hand as he passed away in a moving Instagram post today.
She wrote: “I’m sad to have to tell you all that my darling husband Derek has passed away.
“As some of you may know he has been critically ill following a cardiac arrest in early December which, because of the damage inflicted by Covid in March 2020, led to further complications.
“Derek was surrounded by his family in his final days and I was by his side holding his hand throughout the last long hours and when he passed.
“I have so much more to say, and of course I will do so in due course, but for now I just want to thank all the medical teams who fought so hard to save him and to make his final moments as comfortable and dignified as possible.
“Sending so much love and thanks to all of you who have so generously given our family so much support. Rest gently and peacefully now Derek, my love, I was so lucky to have you in my life.”
Derek had suffered devastating health problems after contracting the virus at the start of the pandemic in 2020.
He was placed in an induced coma after contracting the virus and was placed on a ventilator.
Derek later became the nation’s longest suffering Covid patient after spending 13 months in hospital.
Since being discharged in 2021, Derek has been readmitted to hospital on numerous occasions.
He was diagnosed with “life-threatening” sepsis and a kidney infection, which Kate later described as “dramatic but under control”.
Most recently, he was rushed to hospital after suffering a heart attack on December 11.
Good Morning Britain host Kate cancelled all TV and radio work while she kept a 24/7 vigil at his bedside.
The presenter reportedly spent Christmas at hospital with the couple’s two children Darcey, 17, and Billy, 14.
A source said at the time: “Everyone is praying for a miracle.
“Derek suffered a massive heart attack earlier this week which has left him fighting for his life all over again.
“It was sudden and a shock as he had been doing so well and was in great spirits, looking forward to Christmas at home with the family.
“This setback has been a huge blow for his family and all the people caring for him.
“Kate is by his side 24 hours a day and is willing him on to win this latest battle for his life.
“Derek has fought so many times, and always, against all odds, come out the other side.
“Kate has been utterly incredible — by his side while being an amazing mum to Darcey and Billy, and trying to manage their expectations of a family Christmas.”
The mum, who wed Derek in London in 2005, has tirelessly juggled caring for him while working her TV and radio jobs, as well as raising their two children.
Kate also adapted their North London home and fronted two acclaimed ITV documentaries about her husband.
Derek was a former political adviser from Chorley, Lancashire, who went on to work in PR.
He was an aide to ex-Labour cabinet minister Peter Mandelson, and was at the centre of the scandal known as “Lobbygate” in 1998.
Derek was caught on tape telling an undercover reporter, posing as a businessman, that he could sell access to government ministers and create tax breaks for their clients.
He was later sacked from his position at the Daily Express.
In 2009, he became the founder and editor of the blog LabourList, but stepped down after another scandal involving leaked emails.
Messages sent to him by Gordon Brown‘s special adviser Damian McBride proposed using the site to smear senior Conservative MPs and their spouses.
After 35 years, Derek revoked his Labour Party membership in August 2019.
After retraining as a psychotherapist, Derek became a published author.
His books include Blair’s 100 Days and Life Support and The Psychology of Everyday Life: 50 Bite-Size Insights for Thriving in the Modern World.
In November, Kate gave a “heartbreaking” update on Derek’s condition as she spoke candidly on Peter Leonard’s Emotionally Speaking podcast.
Derek's three-year struggle
- March 30, 2020: Derek is rushed unresponsive to hospital with Covid.
- April 24: He is put into an induced coma.
- June 5: Kat reveals Derek is Covid-free but his body suffered damage.
- July 5: He awakens from a deep coma but remains “minimally conscious”.
- September 6: Kate then reveals Derek lost eight stone and cannot speak.
- September 29: Derek becomes the longest-suffering Covid patient after spending 184 days in hospital.
- October 30: Wakes from coma and speaks for the first time in seven months.
- October 31: He is finally taken off ventilator after 214 days in hospital.
- January 7, 2021: Kate reveals kids got to visit Derek at Christmas – the first time since he was hospitalised.
- April 9: Derek returns home after over a year but needs full-time care.
- May 4: He is able to converse more.
- December 22: Pictured in public for the first time at a panto.
- February 21, 2022: Kate says they secretly flew to Mexico for a medical trail.
- July 6: Derek is rushed back to hospital.
- August 1: He is in intensive care with “life-threatening” sepsis.
- June 28, 2023: He sees wife Kate made MBE.
- October 8: Kate reveals Derek is “not doing great” after an infection.
- November 23: In hospital for treatment to help with movement.
- December 11: Taken ill and suffers heart attack.
The presenter said: “He is living in the world of the unknown, when he wakes up in the morning it is heartbreaking because it feels as though you are watching someone who may have been inhabiting his old life in his dreams and then he wakes up and you see the cloud descend of the battle he has ahead.
“But if you look back, there is some progress, he has more words now and his voice is stronger.
“You occasionally get a little bit of a Chorley accent in there so it feels like he is more present, but he still can’t sit up without assistant and his life isn’t his own.
“His brain had always been his ally and friend, but now it is his enemy. I think he’s had a big emotional struggle.”