Kate Garraway was left 'overwhelmed' during her latest appearance on Good Morning Britain after she finally met one of the nurses who helped care for Derek Draper as he battled the devastating effects Covid had on his body. The presenter, 54, was back at the helm of the ITV news programme on Friday (April 22) alongside Richard Bacon. The pair were joined in the studio by much-loved children's author Michael Rosen, who thought he was on the programme to chat about his new book and own battle with the virus.
Michael has previously appeared on the show to talk about how contracting coronavirus left him in intensive care for seven weeks. During that appearance, back in November, he also revealed that he had been cared for by the same doctors and nurses who had cared for Kate's husband.
READ MORE: Helen Flanagan heartbroken as she shares tribute after 'amazing' Nanna dies
But as Michael, 75, appeared on today's show, ITV decided to surprise him with one of the nurses - Beth - who cared for him during his hospital stay.
As they sat and chatted, Kate took the opportunity to ask Beth about her time caring for Michael on the same ward as Derek, soon discovering that the nurse played a part in her husband's recovery too.
"I have to ask, on a personal note, Derek, I think, was two beds away from Michael. So did you care for him?" Kate asked as Beth revealed she would have been looking after Derek too, leaving Kate very emotional. "Oh my god, that's amazing," the presenter replied as co-host Richard simply said: "Wow!"
"Thank you so much by the way," Kate added as Beth told her: "We did everything we could. We put our all into it." Clearly moved, Kate said again: "Thank you so much, that is amazing."
She then said: "I don't know whether I can leap up and hug you, but I'm going to. Are we allowed to? We're allowed to hug now, aren't we?"
Appearing to get the OK, Kate wasted no time in jumping up and embracing Beth with the pair sharing a hug as Kate continued to thank Beth for what she did for her husband, also 54. "Even just sitting her witnessing this is quite overwhelming," Beth said.
As Michael shared his own gratitude for Beth and the nurses who helped him, Kate sat quite quiet before she later admitted she felt "quite overwhelmed" by it all, admitting she had never seen any of the nurses who cared for Derek.
"I'm quite overwhelmed as I’ve not seen the faces of anyone from that time so it’s lovely," she said. "And thank you on behalf of Derek."
Derek was taken to hospital in March 2020 after developing symptoms of coronavirus. The former Labour lobbyist and psychotherapist spent a year in hospital after the virus 'wreaked havoc' on his body. He was able to return to the family home in April 2021 where he received around-the-clock care.
