Good Morning Britain presenters Ben Shephard and Charlotte Hawkins have sent well wishes to fellow presenter Kate Garraway, after her husband Derek Draper was reportedly rushed to hospital on Tuesday morning (19 July).
In a statement released by ITV on Wednesday (20 July), a spokesperson said: “Kate is taking some time off work over the next few days, and is hoping to be back to her normal presenting duties as soon as possible.”
During the show on Thursday morning (21 July), Shephard said: “We are missing a member of the team, aren’t we?”
Hawkins replied: “‘We are yes. So Kate’s not here. She’s taking some time out to be with Derek at the moment so we’re sending her lots of love.
“Lots of you have been in touch with messages of support, so we wish him well,” she added.
Shephard continued: “Thank you for those messages, we’ll definitely pass them on. You know how much Kate appreciates all the support that she gets and fingers crossed Derek will be home as soon as possible.”
Their messages come after a source close to the Garraway/Draper family told The Mirror that Draper was “seriously unwell”.
“Derek is back in hospital in a very serious condition but the family knows he is in the best hands,” the source said.
“Kate is doing everything she can for her husband. He comes first and so work will have to take a back seat this week.”
Draper was put into a medically-induced coma after catching Covid in March 2020. He subsequently spent 374 days in hospital and now requires full-time care.
Earlier this month, Garraway said Draper had spent some time in hospital after a “bit of a downturn”.
She said at the time: “He’s back in hospital I’m afraid so a bit of a downturn but fingers crossed.”
The Independent has contacted Garraway’s reps for comment.
