Finding Derek: What to expect from Kate Garraway’s ITV documentary

ITV film looks set to be an emotional and deeply personal look at the GMB presenter and her husband’s ordeal

ITV’s documentary about the coronavirus ordeal of Kate Garraway and her husband Derek Draper airs tomorrow (Tuesday 23 March).

Broadcaster Garraway has been sharing regular updates about her husband’s illness since he was hospitalised with Covid-19 in March last year.

Kate Garraway: Finding Derek will follow the Good Morning Britain presenter as she narrates the journey Draper and their family have endured since he became ill.

It will also speak to other families who have been severely affected by Covid, particularly those suffering from long-term symptoms.

Filmed between July 2020 and the present day, the documentary promises to provide a personal and emotional insight into Garraway and Draper’s experience, as she opens up about her feelings on the family’s future.

One clip in the trailer shows her, visibly exhausted, shouting, “Derek, I miss you”.

Read more:

• Kate Garraway says she may have to give up Good Morning Britain job
• Derek Draper: The year-long Covid battle of Kate Garraway’s husband

Draper, 53, who has two children with Garraway, is a former lobbyist, journalist, and author, who is also trained as a psychotherapist.

After becoming ill with Covid in March, he was placed in intensive care and later placed in an induced coma on a ventilator.

He reportedly no longer has coronavirus but has been left with other serious health issues because of the virus, including damage to his kidneys, liver, heart and lungs.

He was in a “deeper” coma last year and is reportedly now in a “state of minimal consciousness” since coming out of it.

In a clip of the documentary seen by The Mirror, Garraway opens up about how Draper’s battle has affected his mental health.

“Derek had been drifting in and out of consciousness and when he said that, it was absolutely devastating, but it showed me he was still in there,” Garraway says.

She told The Times this month: “I feel like he is in an ocean of unconsciousness and sometimes he comes up to the surface.

“In the run-up to Christmas, there were moments of consciousness where I felt like we were really communicating. But then the focus of the concentration disappears, and he’s gone.”

While Draper has shown signs of improvement, it is still not clear what his recovery will look like or if he will ever be able to return home.

“I don’t know if he’ll have any kind of life again,” Garraway told The Times.

As well as the documentary, Garraway has written a book, titled The Power of Hope, about her and her husband’s experience during the pandemic.

Kate Garraway: Finding Derek airs on Tuesday 23 March at 9pm on ITV and @ITVHub