Kate Garraway’s husband Derek Draper dies aged 56 after a long battle with Covid

Kate Garraway today revealed that her husband Derek Draper has died aged 56 after suffering a heart attack before Christmas following a long battle with Covid.

The Good Morning Britain star announced her husband’s death on Instagram this morning, revealing she was holding his hand when he died.

She said: “I am sad to tell you all that my dear husband Derek has passed away.

“Derek was surrounded by his family in his final days and I stood by his side, holding his hand through the last long hours and when he passed away. I have so much more to say, and I will of course 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 make his last moments as comfortable and dignified as possible. ‘.

Mr Draper was a former researcher for Blairite Peter Mandelson, who became a New Labor spin doctor and later retrained as a psychotherapist after a series of political scandals.

Tragically, he was one of the first in Britain to become seriously ill with Covid-19 and was admitted to an intensive care unit when the country went into lockdown in March 2020. He was one of the country’s longest-suffering COVID patients after being hospitalized but never fully recovered.

He suffered a massive heart attack last month and MailOnline understands he died in a north London hospital on Wednesday evening. Kate said he died surrounded by family.

Derek was plagued by health problems after contracting Covid in 2020 and suffered a cardiac arrest in early December, with Kate spending Christmas in hospital. Mrs Garraway and Mr Draper married in 2005 and have two children, Darcey and Billy.

In a post on Instagram, his wife said: ‘As some of you may know, he has been seriously ill following a cardiac arrest in early December which, due to the damage done by Covid in March 2020, led to further complications.

“Sending so much love and thanks to all of you who have generously given our family so much support. Rest in peace now Derek, my love, I was so lucky to have you in my life.”

Draper, a prominent figure in New Labor in the 1990s, worked for Blairite Peter Mandelson and set up the Progress organization with Liam Byrne, who later became an MP.

After becoming embroiled in the so-called ‘cash-for-access’ scandal, also known as ‘lobbygate’, he traveled to the United States, where he retrained as a psychotherapist.

Mr Draper became seriously ill with Covid-19 in March 2020 and spent 13 months in hospital before being discharged.

Despite being free of the virus, he had suffered long-term damage to his organs and required daily care.

In 2021, Good Morning Britain presenter Garraway won an award at the National Television Awards for the documentary Finding Derek, about her family’s experiences during the pandemic.

It describes her husband’s treatment and his subsequent return to their family home.

In July 2022, Garraway confirmed that Mr Draper had been readmitted to hospital and it was reported later that month that his condition had deteriorated.

His fight against the virus received a lot of attention and support, including from former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the royal family.

Former lobbyist and political adviser Derek Draper became part of one of Britain’s most prominent media power couples through his marriage to TV presenter Kate Garraway.

The New Labor spin doctor achieved great influence in the 1990s, but was best known for his involvement in the ‘lobbygate’ scandal.

Mr Draper, a former researcher for Blairite Peter Mandelson, became director of lobbying firm GPC Market Access in 1996 and co-founded the New Labor organization Progress with Liam Byrne, who later became an MP.

While working at GPC, Mr. Draper was caught on tape bragging to an undercover journalist about his government connections.

In one of the first sordid scandals to hit Tony Blair’s young government, he reportedly claimed: “There are seventeen people who count in this government, and to say that I am intimate with them all is an understatement of the century.’

Mr Draper insisted he had done nothing wrong in the so-called ‘cash for access’ scandal dubbed ‘lobbygate’, but admitted he did have a ‘big mouth’.

The incident seemed to spell the end of any greater political ambitions for the famous champagne-swilling New Labor supporter and he traveled to the United States, where he trained as a psychotherapist.

In 2005, Mr Draper married Kate Garraway, the GMTV co-presenter who is now part of the Good Morning Britain team on ITV and in 2007 appeared on Strictly Come Dancing and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Lord! in November 2019.

In 2008 he returned to the Labor spotlight as head of the website LabourList, a left-wing rival to online portals such as Conservative Home.

He made headlines again in 2009, stepping down as editor of LabourList after email correspondence between him and Damian McBride, one of Gordon Brown’s top aides, was leaked.

In the emails, Mr McBride proposed a campaign of baseless personal smears against senior Conservatives on a new blog called RedRag, an idea praised by Mr Draper as “absolutely, totally brilliant”.

In a resignation statement to the Guardian, Mr Draper acknowledged that his continued presence on LabourList – which was originally set up to discuss serious policy ideas – was detracting from the website.

‘I regret ever receiving the infamous email and I regret my stupid, hasty response. “I should have said straight away that the idea was wrong,” he said.

‘I ask people to remember that the contents were never published by me or anyone else associated with the Labor Party and would never have seen the light of day had someone not hacked into my emails and made them public. domain.

“It turned a silly idea that ended up in the trash into a national scandal.”

Mr Draper was sent back into the Labor wilderness and became CEO of a leadership consultancy, where he created weekly emails summarizing the best content for business and HR leaders.

In 2019, he announced he would resign from the Labor Party.

Mr Draper was one of the first in Britain to become seriously ill with Covid-19 and was admitted to an intensive care unit when the country went into lockdown in March 2020.

He was placed in an induced coma and it was only over a year later, in April 2021, that he was able to return home to his family.

His case attracted widespread media attention, partly because of his marriage to Garraway, who produced an award-winning documentary about his illness, and partly because of the length of his hospital stay.

Some media reported that he had become the country’s longest-suffering patient after spending 13 months in hospital.

Despite now being free of the virus, Mr Draper had suffered long-term damage to his organs and required daily care at home.

In early July 2022, Garraway announced that he had been readmitted to hospital and later that month he quit presenting Good Morning Britain as his condition worsened.

The following February, the ITV series Kate Garraway: Caring for Derek aired on ITV, documenting Draper’s return home from hospital, while also following Garraway as she navigated the ‘myriad challenges of the social care system and its complexities’.

Months later, the couple were invited as guests of honor to Sir Elton John at his Farewell Yellow Brick Road concert at London’s O2 Arena in April.

Draper was photographed next to his wife in June, despite being in and out of hospital, as she collected her MBE from the Prince of Wales at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.

In December, The Sun reported that Draper had ‘suffered a massive heart attack’ and said Garraway kept a 24/7 vigil at his bedside.

Draper had two children with Garraway: a son, William, and a daughter, Darcey.