Ben Shephard previously revealed Darcey Draper’s concerns for mum Kate Garraway in the immediate aftermath of dad Derek Draper’s death.
Derek’s death was sadly announced in January 2024 by Kate. She announced the devastating news that her husband, Derek, had died in a statement on social media. Derek had been battling the effects of Covid-19 since contracting the virus back in 2020.
Appearing back on Good Morning Britain less than a week after his death, Kate’s long-term pal Ben Shephard shared an update on how the family were doing. And how Darcey had rallied round her heartbroken mum.
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Kate Garraway ‘in a bubble of grief’ after death of Derek Draper
Taking to Instagram, Kate shared a smiling snap of her late husband, along with a lengthy caption.
“I’m sad to have to tell you all that my darling husband Derek has passed away,” she said in her statement. “As some of you may know, he has been critically ill following a cardiac arrest in early December which, because of the damage inflicted by Covid in March 2020, led to further complications.
“Derek was surrounded by his family in his final days and I was by his side holding his hand throughout the last long hours and when he passed.”
She then ended the post by writing: “Sending so much love and thanks to all of you who have so generously given our family so much support. Rest gently and peacefully now Derek, my love, I was so lucky to have you in my life.”
Ben Shephard on Kate’s grief and Darcey’s compassion
On Good Morning Britain days later, Ben Shephard hosted for the first time since Derek’s death. Ben, a close pal of Kate’s, said: “She said she is sort of in a strange bubble of her own numbness of grief at the moment. Her, Billy, and Darcey are hunkering down together.”
He went on to share a conversation between mother and daughter when Kate told her kids she had to go and register Derek’s death.
“She told Darcey: ‘I’m going to have to go out the house,’ and Darcey said: ‘I know this is going to be really hard, but can I make one suggestion?’ She says: ‘Course you can, darling.’ And then Darcey said: ‘Can you take the Christmas jumper off and can you brush your hair?'”
Ben added: “She said to me: ‘The clocks stopped for us just before Christmas when Derek had that heart attack,’ and she’s just starting to come out of that. We all know that Kate in the run up to Christmas wears a new Christmas jumper every day, she supports the charity. And suddenly she realises that everything has been frozen in time since then. So now it’s about the next part of his journey.”
‘An extraordinary comfort’
Ben’s update came days after Kate sent a message to GMB viewers. “Hello everyone, thank you so much for all the wonderful messages that you have sent me. It really does mean so much to me, Darcey, Billy, and all of Derek’s family,” the message read.
“They are an extraordinary comfort and I am so lucky to feel connected to you all through these messages at this time when the raw pain of grief can be so isolating,” she then said.
Later in the message, she said: “I look forward to waking up with you very soon again on Good Morning Britain to celebrate life in all its wonder and challenge again.
“I hope you forgive me for taking some time to be at home.”
Kat’s GMB return… and Ben’s exit
A month after Derek died, Kate returned to Good Morning Britain for a live interview from the home they shared. Days later, after laying Derek to rest, Kate was back behind the news desk of the ITV series.
Ben, meanwhile, announced he was exiting GMB for the This Morning sofa, where he made his debut in March of 2024.
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