Who is Kate Garraway's husband and how long has he been in hospital as GMB host shares new documentary Finding Derek

Kate Garraway's husband Derek was hospitalised with Covid last year. Now the Good Morning Britain host has bravely shared his story in a new documentary called Finding Derek. The ITV documentary shows how Derek's long and punishing battle with coronavirus has changed Kate and their children's lives.

One year since Derek first contracted the virus in March 2020, the new documentary details Kate's husband's plight - including his subsequent weight loss, multiple organ failure, and the moment Kate was told he might die.

We also see the GMB presenter stay by her husband's side through every step of his health journey whilst adjusting to life as a temporary single-mum at home.

Who is Kate Garraway's husband?

Kate Garraway's husband Derek is a re-trained psychotherapist, who has written articles and a self-help book titled Life Support. Prior to this, Kate’s husband was a former political advisor to ex-Labour cabinet minister Peter Mandelson and author of the book Blair’s 100 Days, about former British PM Tony Blair.

Kate and Derek first met in 2004, after being introduced by their mutual friend Gloria De Piero. Gloria had set up drinks for a group of friends at the Claridges hotel in London. This included Kate and Derek, who Gloria believed would “be perfect for each other.”

Recalling their first meeting, Kate told The Times that Derek misled the drinks invitation as a blind date.

“Derek arrived thinking it was a date and that I was being incredibly cool by ignoring him,” she said. “He asked me out, but the day of our date called to say he had a clash: he’d promised to serve wine at an amateur watercolour painting exhibition at his church.

“I really thought it was a wind-up. But I turned up and he was indeed serving wine to the congregation in a salmon-pink jumper.”

Kate went on to marry Derek in September 2005. They wed in Camden, London.

Last year marked the couple's 15th wedding anniversary. To celebrate this Derek and Kate had plans to renew their vows in August 2020.

Derek popped the question for a second time after Kate’s appearance on I’m a Celebrity in 2019. However, his current long Covid battle tragically prevented the vow renewal from going ahead.

How old is Derek Draper?

Derek Draper is 53-years-old - the same age as his wife. He was born 15 August 1967.

Derek sadly spent his last birthday in hospital, though Kate still celebrated Derek's birthday, with her and her children determined to mark his special day.

Kate told viewers on Good Morning Britain that the family were able to have a video conversation with him.

“It was Derek’s birthday on Saturday as well, which was obviously a challenging one under the circumstances," she said at the time.

"We managed to FaceTime him and sing happy birthday, we had a cake which we had on FaceTime.”

Is Kate Garraway's husband still in hospital?

Yes Kate's husband Derek is still in hospital and continues his fight against coronavirus. Derek was first admitted to hospital on 30 March 2020 after testing positive for Covid-19 and showing symptoms.

Four days later, the 53-year-old was transferred to intensive care and put into an induced coma as his condition worsened. Kate also developed mild symptoms of Covid.

In July, it was reported that Draper was in a minimal state of consciousness, having come out of the coma.

Whilst Derek no longer tests positive for coronavirus he remains in intensive care.

Although slowly improving, Kate says doctors told her that Derek was the most seriously ill person they had seen who remained alive. Derek has suffered kidney failure, liver damage and pancreas and heart failure as a consequence of him contracting COVID-19.

Nevertheless, Kate remains hopeful about her husband's recovery.

How old are Kate Garraway's children?

Kate and Derek share two children together - a daughter and son.

Darcey Mary Draper is 15 years old and was born on 10 March 2006 at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in London.

Her brother William Garraway Draper, known as 'Billy' is 11 years old. Kate and Derek welcomed their son on 28 July 2009.

Kate has been helping her kids to get through this particularly difficult time. She previously revealed that their son was sleeping at his dad's bedside during the early days of Derek's fight.

The two children both appeared on the documentary Finding Derek, where they opened up about their father’s health struggle.

Darcey said: 'I've not really thought the worse, I’ve always said he's going to get better, he’s going to get back – all of this stuff.

“They say that, we've heard rumours, he will get back, hopefully, before the end of next year but we really don't know at all.”

Son Billy also added: “I really want him back but we don't know if he's going to get better or not.”

Kate and her children have regularly expressed their thanks to the NHS for looking after Derek. They joined many across the country on the 'clap for carers' during the first UK lockdown.

Where to watch Finding Derek

Finding Derek aired on ITV on Tuesday 23rd March at 9pm. But don’t worry if you missed it as you can catch up with the documentary on the ITV Hub.

In the one-off special film, Kate Garraway gave an insight into her incredibly difficult year, dealing with her husband’s ongoing long Covid-19 battle. The film joins Kate and her children in July 2020 and follows the family right up to March 2021.

In one heartbreaking scene, Kate appears in Derek’s study in July 2020 surrounded by copies of the Financial Times.

"I wanted to keep all of his financial times which he gets every day delivered. So they're all here ready for you Derek when you come back....maybe it's like a little capsule of time really,” she says. “If he can wake up and he can begin to piece things together, maybe it will help him process the time that's passed".