How Kate Garraway's daughter Darcey, 17, has remained a 'constant pillar' for her mother as the family mourns the loss of her husband Derek Draper

She held her mother's hand at her father's funeral last Friday and courageously carried his coffin as a pallbearer, despite being only 17 years old.

And now it can be revealed that Darcey Draper has remained a 'constant pillar of strength' for her mother Kate Garraway, 56, throughout Derek Draper's fatal four-year battle with Covid.

A close friend told the Daily Mail: 'The whole family is staying close to support each other at this difficult time, especially the children who have been a huge pillar of support for Kate throughout.'

It comes after Mrs Garraway's tearful interview on Good Morning Britain today, in her first television appearance since her husband died – just three days after his funeral on Friday.

Mr Draper died of cardiac arrest on January 3 – four years after a severe bout of Covid in 2020 caused his health to seriously deteriorate.

During the interview with her ITV co-stars Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley, Mrs Garraway praised her daughter's “extraordinary courage” during Mr Draper's final months.

The teenager, known for being popular among her school friends, cut a solid and courageous figure at the funeral and in the weeks before her father's death.

She revealed that the last words Darcey said to her father were, “Daddy, if you can't do this, everything will be okay. Let yourself go when you have to go, don't worry about us, don't worry about mommy.

“We'll be fine, because you live on through us.”

Shocked, Ms Reid, 53, said the story of Darcey's strength during the devastating ordeal of losing her father will certainly 'open up a grown-up conversation' about how we approach children about death.

Mrs Garraway agreed, recalling her children's maturity when she told them their father had suffered cardiac arrest.

She said: 'The first thing Darcey said was, 'How are you, mum?' It was breathtaking.

I said, “That's a great question, thanks for asking.”

“They have taken on a caring role and I am so proud of them.

'They didn't want to put pressure on him to continue for us, I don't think so.

'It's nice that they saw his perspective that way. I think it's extraordinary.'

But added: “We are only at the foot of our grief.”

Mr Draper's funeral took place in London's Primrose Hill last Friday and was attended by the likes of Tony Blair and Keir Starmer, while Elton John sang Skyline Pigeon 'sweetly'.

An emotional Mrs Garraway wore a £349 black overcoat from Hobbs, accompanied by her son Billy, 14, and Darcey, who wore a similar £150 faux fur coat from British brand De La Creme.

Darcey was later seen carrying her father's coffin and Mrs Garraway said she had done this to quell her mother's fears that the meaning of the day would be lost behind her ITV profile.

She said: 'It was her idea. I wanted the funeral to represent everything about him and not about me.

'Darcey came into the room while we were talking about it and said, 'Can I please carry the coffin?'

'I thought, 'Crikey, that's a practical challenge, for anyone who's ever done it, it's tough.' But she said, 'I want to do it' and actually insisted on it, and I thought that was a beautiful thing.”

Richard Madeley, who attended the funeral, recalled in the interview how Mrs Garraway had read a eulogy written by Darcey, which was 'beautiful and sometimes very funny'.

He said: 'It made everyone laugh but it also ended with her last words to her late father.

“When you read it, I thought this was so mature that she almost whispered to him that he didn't have to worry about caring for all of you anymore.”

Before Mr Draper's death, Mrs Garraway took an extended leave of absence from the ITV program to be with her husband after he suffered a cardiac arrest in December that left him in a vegetative state.

She revealed it came as a 'stop all the clocks' moment, as her late husband seemed the 'furthest' from death before he died, having moved into a 'positive place'.

Doctors said he was only given 24 hours to live, which extended to more than a month after his death in January, but said her heart broke for the children who had “heard it before.”