09 January 2024 , 21:29
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TV presenter Kate Garraway told how she rang husband Derek Draper’s old mobile phone when he was seriously ill so she could listen to the sound of his voice.
She also went through run-of-the-mill emails to remind herself of how good their relationship was. The Good Morning Britain host has thanked the public for the support after Derek died last week aged 56.
On calling his old phone while he was in hospital, Kate said: “I knew that what I was about to do would be like torturing myself but I sensed this was the moment that I needed to push myself to the limit.
"I called Derek’s old mobile number and heard his ‘old voice’ on the answerphone – so powerful, so in control, the soft Lancashire accent so familiar and now so distant from the whispered words we heard from Derek every day. I was floored, but knew I had to... go deeper, so I searched his last texts to me and his emails going further back than the final heart-breaking ones he’d sent me from the hospital, before he was put into the coma.
Derek Draper contracted Covid at the start of 2020“These were emails from 2019 and early 2020. Some were practical, ‘Pick up X’ or ‘I can’t make that. Can you?’. Then there were lengthier ones about the children – Darcey’s GCSE options and Bill’s struggles with maths. There were others about me [and] my projects. ‘What you’ve written, darling, is really good. I am having a good day too but will tell you about that over your famous Thai fish cakes for tea – hint hint?!’ he’d written.
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"At the time, I had seen these messages in an almost business-like way. As I rushed around, busy with work and the kids. Three years on, reading these day-to-day conversations brought me to tears. I felt full of regret that I hadn’t treasured this connection... more.”
In her book The Strength of Love, Kate added: “If someone had asked me to explain what it was Derek and I had together... I could have sent them these few notes of love and support. That’s all they would have needed.”
The pair wed in 2005. Former political adviser Derek suffered long-term problems from Covid and needed daily care, which Kate chronicled in books and ITV documentaries. Kate, 56, was joined by Derek and her parents Gordon and Marilyn when she was made an MBE last year.