Inside Kate Garraway's £4million family home with a redesigned ground floor as it's revealed she may be forced to sell after late husband Derek Draper's 24-hour care 'wiped her out financially'

Kate Garraway has 'spent thousands' adapting her north London home for husband Derek Draper's battle with the devastating, debilitating effects of COVID-19 after he fell ill with the respiratory virus in March 2020, as Britain braced for its first national lockdown.

But following Derek's tragic death on January 3, aged just 56, the Good Morning Britain presenter may be forced to sell the property as caring for the former political lobbyist at home for three years has 'wiped her out financially'.

Potential buyers will notice significant personal changes to the property including a lift, wet room and a ground floor completely redesigned to meet all of Derek's needs.

Kate, 56, is said to have spent thousands of pounds on professional help for her late husband – who was confined to a wheelchair and required round-the-clock care before suffering a fatal cardiac arrest – and on two trips to Mexico to pioneer treatment.

The popular presenter suffered more financial problems in 2022 when the couple's psychotherapy company Astra Aspera closed with debts of £184,000.

The closure left her with a tax bill of £716,000. Another company, Praespero 100, saw its assets fall by £87,000 in 2022.

A friend said: 'It's so sad for Kate. Not only has she had to watch her beloved husband suffer for almost four years, but her financial worries have never been far from her thoughts.

'It has cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to care for Derek and do everything she can to make him better, but she is struggling.

'The house is about all she has left financially and she is now faced with the fact that it may have to be sold.

'It's where she and Derek were so happy and also where her two children grew up – but bills are bills and they need to be paid. It's terrible for Kate.'

Kate admitted last year: 'It's been tough financially. As anyone with a loved one who is seriously ill knows, costs are skyrocketing in so many ways.

'You have to make changes to your home and that affects your ability to work.

'I had to take long periods off when Derek first became ill and it is affecting the family's overall income as he can no longer work.'

Speaking to Good Morning Britain viewers in 2021, Kate admitted it was 'completely overwhelming but also wonderful' to have Derek back home.

Kate revealed the changes she made to the family home in her heartbreaking documentary Finding Derek, in which she added a wheelchair lift, wet room, alarm system and a ground floor bedroom to the house.

The presenter installed the lift so that her house became wheelchair accessible for Derek.

Kate also converted the ground floor lounge into his new bedroom, which was fitted with a hospital bed as the virus damaged the former lobbyist's muscles.

At the time the show was filmed, the wet room was still being worked on and a builder was seen laying plaster and preparing to install a toilet inside.

Kate explained to viewers: 'What we're doing at the moment is an occupational therapist dealing with the layout of the house, where we're looking at setting up a wet room, basically living on the ground floor.

'He will either be on a stretcher or in a wheelchair. And they are also figuring out how to install a lift in the garden.'

Kate revealed she would sleep downstairs in a 'murphy bed' so she could be close to Derek while she selected small mosaic tiles, his favorite style, for the new bathroom.

The presenter brought a team of carers into the house and admitted it was like 'a ward at home now because he needs so much equipment', her co-host Ben Shephard told ITV's Good Morning Britain in 2021.

Other features of the house include floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the garden, which allowed Derek to view his and Kate's children Darcey and Billy.

Kate admitted that their two children were 'over the moon and overwhelmed in equal measure' when they got back Derek, who worked with physiotherapists and speech therapists during his hospital stay.

Comparing it to bringing home a newborn, Kate said that after extensive planning she wondered 'what do we do next?', but she stressed: 'It was overwhelming but also amazing.'

She added: 'We are over the moon and overwhelmed in equal measure…

'I still remember that day when you brought home your firstborn and you had been planning for nine months, and you thought, 'What do we do now?'

'It's kind of that feeling. It was overwhelming, but also amazing.

'It was a medical reason for coming home as well as our wish and his wish to encourage a more normal environment to encourage his recovery and consciousness and they [the children] absolutely loved it.

Very helpful. It was actually great.'

But she said that after a year in intensive care, their children had started “delaying” questions to their father.

'I'm actually noticing a bit of procrastination, like 'should we check with Dad?' she told viewers at the time. 'And I'm like, “Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, I'm still the boss.”

“They are absolutely thrilled and overwhelmed. And of course we are there for support, but I am not a doctor.'

Kate also revealed how her home was equipped with an alarm system in case Derek needed urgent attention.

She said, “He can press it with his right hand when he needs us. There are people for Derek, there is someone for the children.

'It was a bit of a strange feeling when I thought 'oh my goodness'. We hope that this will be the future situation and that he will not have to go to hospital again.'