Kate Garraway made MBE after documenting husband’s Covid battle
The Good Morning Britain star has been recognised in the New Year Honours.
Kate Garraway has been made an MBE in the New Year Honours after documenting her husband Derek Draper’s battle with coronavirus.
The TV presenter, 54, has been recognised for her services to broadcasting, journalism and charity.
She is a well-known face on ITV, having presented multiple shows including Good Morning Britain, GMTV and Lorraine in a career spanning several decades.
In September 2021 she won the authored documentary prize at the National Television Awards for her hard-hitting documentary Finding Derek.
The programme charted her family’s struggle to get her husband home from hospital after he became seriously ill with Covid-19 in March 2020.
Though Draper, a former political adviser, is now free of the virus, he has sustained long-lasting damage to his organs and his recovery is ongoing.
A sequel, titled Caring For Derek, will show the period following Derek’s return home as Garraway navigates the challenges of the social care system.
It is set to air in 2022.
Garraway and Draper married in 2005 and have a daughter and a son, Darcey and Billy.
In April 2021 Garraway published an intimate memoir titled The Power of Hope detailing the “raw and emotional story” and the effects the experience had had on her family.
Her husband’s battle with the virus won much attention and support, including from Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the royal family.
At a Prince’s Trust event in October 2021 Garraway thanked the Prince of Wales after reportedly receiving a personal letter from an unidentified member of the royal family and the offer of help from a royal physician.
She recently said that having Draper return to the family home for Christmas 2021 – the first time since he fell ill – was “the biggest gift” she could have received.
Garraway currently features in a rotating cast of Good Morning Britain presenters including Susanna Reid, Ben Shephard, Ranvir Singh and Charlotte Hawkins.
She is also a host on Smooth Radio and in November 2021 it was announced that she would take over from Piers Morgan as the host of ITV’s Life Stories.
Garraway has made appearances on shows including BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2007, and ITV’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! in 2019.
