KATE Garraway revealed her late husband Derek Draper felt like a burden and a failure in the months before his tragic death.
The Good Morning Britain star, 56, appeared on today’s show to discuss her new ITV documentary about Derek’s final year.
Former political lobbyist Derek, who spent eight months in hospital in 2020 after being diagnosed with Covid and suffered life-changing complications from the virus, died on January 3 aged 56.
Speaking to Richard Madeley and Susanna Reid, an emotional Kate revealed how Derek was frustrated by, and struggled with, his restricted way of life as the family did their best to care for him.
She said it was “horrific” listening to his shrieks of anger and wishes he would have “stopped” and been at peace for the remainder of his life.
“He wanted to continue and he had to fight on and progress because that was his purpose,” she explained.
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“He felt like a constant failure and an incredible burden on the carers, the system, us. It didn’t matter what we said, he felt that burden.
“Making this documentary was his way of saying ‘I’m going to speak up for the people that supported me’.”
Kate lamented the way Derek’s illness changed the nature of their relationship.
She said: “Derek adored me and we loved each other incredibly. The way you show love, he couldn’t do.”
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In the documentary Kate revealed that paying for Derek’s at-home care put her into huge debt.
She stepped back from her telly duties to care for the former political advisor and was a vital part of his round the clock routine.
Despite Derek’s lengthy list of needs, Kate and her family were denied any Government funding, meaning the TV presenter had to hire in help at a large cost to the family. The total is said to be around £800,000.
Speaking ahead of his passing in ITV special Derek’s Story, Kate admitted that caring for him pushed her finances to the brink of collapse.
She said: “Derek’s care costs more than my salary for my TV, and that’s before you’ve paid for a mortgage, before you’ve paid for any household bills, before you’ve paid for kids – so, we are at a crunch point.
“I am in debt and I can’t earn enough money to cover my debt because I am managing Derek’s care.
“I can’t even use the money I do have to support Derek’s recovery, because it’s going on the basics all the time.
“I’m not going to pretend by the way that I am poorly paid, I have an incredible job that I love that is well paid, but it’s not enough.
“Time and time again, the system keeps telling us that Derek isn’t sick enough, and doesn’t have enough of a health need to have funded care. I’ve appealed, but that still hasn’t been processed years later.
“Derek’s care, the basic needs and not including any therapy which I pay for on top, is nearly £4,000 a week – and how can anyone afford £16,000 a month?
“Please god, there could be another 40 years of this – but we’re entirely reliant on extraordinary carers in a system with is complicated, underfunded and trying to match unmeetable needs.
“Coming home from hospital feels like falling off a cliff, and if this is what it’s like for me, what on earth is it like for everybody else?”
Kate meets with one of Derek’s former colleague, Liz, in another emotional scene, where she wheels Derek out in a wheelchair to be part of the conversation.
The presenter is told that one in five women between the ages of 55 and 60 will become a carer, and that there are over two million people caring for loved ones at home.
Kate said: “Something has to be done or the whole service, everything, is going to break.
“I want Derek to need less to care, I don’t want to argue for more, but to get to that point we need support – and no political party has sorted this.
“There’s currently no national budget for care and the amount spent is a postcode lottery on whether you get any support at all.
“It’s hard to think about who Derek was before, it was hard to understand his beliefs that were so strong about a fairer society. If you’re the person that has been arguing for change and a better system and then find yourself victim to the system that didn’t change, it must be very hard mentally.”
Derek’s health battle was the subject of two previous award-winning films, Finding Derek and Caring for Derek.
But Kate, mum to their two children Darcey, 18, and Billy, 14, was keen to allow Derek to use his own voice in the new documentary, and advocate for better support for carers.
She said of the film: “We wanted to highlight how he and our family are just one of millions who, every day, have to deal with the challenges of severe disability or life-threatening illness.
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“And we wanted to celebrate the incredible work of carers, both professional and those who do it out of love.”
Kate Garraway: Derek’s Story airs Tuesday at 9pm on ITV1, ITVX and STV.
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Dan Cain
