Kate Garraway has spoken about her husband Derek Draper’s struggle to speak during his recovery from Covid.
The presenter, 54, made the heartbreaking revelation in an interview with The Bill star Chris Ellison who suffers from aphasia the same speech-debilitating illness that forced Bruce Willis to retire his Hollywood acting career.
She said on Tuesday’s Good Morning Britain: “In a sense Derek – because of Covid – has a version of this where he can understand, sometimes do odd words, but can’t express himself.
“It’s very interesting what you say Anita about the loneliness of that because you’ve lost that relationship and that ability for others to see your partner.”
The Good Morning Britain presenter previously spoke about her husband’s struggle to speak with former co-host Piers Morgan on his Life Stories interview show.
On the show that aired in December, he said: “We had a moment last night when I rang you about this interview. Without warning, you said to me, ‘Why don’t we talk to Derek?’ and Derek replied when you said it was me, very loud, clear, ‘Hello’.”
“And I said a few things to him and at the end he said, ‘Thank you’. I was stunned.”
Garraway hailed it as a “remarkable moment” that left her just as shocked.
She said: “Well, so were we. The carers that were with me at the time burst into tears. I mean, I don’t want to suggest you’re a healer Piers but it was a remarkable moment. It’s moments like that that make you realise that is in there.
“And we’ve had others – he will turn to me and say, ‘I love you’. He is there! He’s fought so hard to stay in this world and I’m not giving up on him ever. He will have moments of clarity and it’s like he disappears again.”
Mr Draper continues to battle health issues after contracting Covid two years ago.
The former Labour spin doctor contracted the virus during the first lockdown in 2020 and spent more than a year in hospital.
He continues to need round-the-clock care at home.
