Kate Garraway receives MBE from Prince William as husband Derek Draper looks on in wheelchair

Virgin Radio

28 Jun 2023, 16:01

Kate Garraway has been recognised for her services to broadcasting, journalism and charity. The presenter, author and campaigner was awarded an MBE from Prince William and was joined by her wheelchair-bound husband Derek Draper.

The Good Morning Britain presenter, 56, was joined by a suited-and-booted Derek, 55, as she received the prestigious accolade.

The TV host has spent the last few years since the former lobbyist first contracted Covid-19 in 2020 and spent 13 months in hospital. Derek became the worst-affected person known to have survived the illness and still requires 24/7 care. She has since been raising awareness about his ongoing condition, the state of the social care system and made documentaries Finding Derek and Caring For Derek about his prolonged recovery.

Friend Piers Morgan wrote on Twitter: "What a wonderful photo. Great to see Derek there for Kate’s big day. Congrats."⁩

"We’ve got some positive things with Derek and even though the struggles are still the same, I took a decided… we need to fill our days with good stuff," she admitted recently on Loose Women.

"I'm still living the scenes you see in the documentary. I've decided to do another documentary. I've written a book, nearly finished, which is coming out in September.

"The publishers have been very good because it was supposed to be out last year and I just couldn't complete it.

"Everything was just too much and also, having written the first one, The Power Of Hope, which was all about Covid which we were all experiencing at the time, I felt we'd all moved on and actually we're living a different kind of chaos now. There's a lot more anger around and frustration. A lot of people feel quite betrayed and desperate.

"I didn't want to write a book about the low times, I wanted to get to a place where it can be really positive and share some of the things I've learned to get through it."

On his struggle to speak, she said: "I don’t think we are necessarily going to have a conversation but you get fantastic moments," she said.

"This is so silly, but Billy (their son) had a new basketball and he was bouncing it and suddenly Derek said, 'Is that a new ball?' and we all just gasped.

"And Billy goes, 'Yes, yes it is' and he goes, 'It’s nice' and seeing him able to interact, it is something you take for granted, but then Billy was in tears."

She added: "It’s things like that which really lift you up, but then the next day he can be completely still."

Read here about the TRIC Awards 2023 and see the full winners list.