Kate Garraway calls her husband Derek Draper "every night" - but doesn\'t know if he can hear her.
The \'Good Morning Britain\' presenter\'s spouse is battling coronavirus in intensive care and her co-anchor, Ben Shephard, has revealed Kate finds "comfort" in her daily calls, despite not knowing if Derek understands a word she\'s saying.
Speaking on the show, Ben said of Kate\'s situation: "Staff are taking a phone in the evenings and she can talk to her husband.
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"She has no idea if he is responding, but she hopes that he is.
"It\'s a source of comfort."
Kate - who has Darcey, 14, and William, 11, with Derek - had to celebrate her 53rd birthday in isolation and without her husband for the first time in 16 years over the weekend.
The Smooth Radio presenter shared a picture of her birthday cake on Instagram.
Kate also revealed she was given chocolates by her kids and "smellies" from the ITV team, adding that Derek is a "great believer in the healing power of silliness".
She wrote: "So yesterday was always going to be a tough one - 1st birthday in 16 years without Derek - so for the kids & I, his abscence was very present. But am very well aware could be worse - he is still here. So we resolved to do what I think we are all having to do at the moment aren\'t we - treasure & be grateful for the love around us - however distanced we are from it . And focus on the joy of life & love in the moment - the small things that are huge & really should be at the core of everyday, but usually the everyday gets in the way.
"So THANK YOU so much for all your messages they mean such a lot, to the friends @itv who sent chocolate for the kids & uplifting smellies for me , to mates who dropped off food, posh teabags & milk & made me smile at silliness ( derek is a great believer in the healing power of silliness), to my amazing family, to derek\'s friends who sent me messages of fun times they have had with him ( pictured is when Derek was editing a student newspaper - insert your own " his taste in birds" joke here!) And the strangers who got this cake >>> from @romankemp & all at @global & worked out it was actually meant for me ( was it the bourbons that gave it away??!!) - THANK YOU all. But most of all thank you to the NHS teams keeping derek still with us e& battling everyday to inch him toward recovery (sic)"
16 December 2025 - 2:17 AM
