Kate Garraway pays tribute to husband Derek Draper on birthday

Kate Garraway has shared a moving tribute to her husband Derek Draper after spending her first birthday in 16 years without him.

The Good Morning Britain presenter turned 53 on Monday, admitting it was a ‘tough one’ for her family as her spouse continues to fight for his life in hospital following his COVID-19 diagnosis.

The star resolved to stay positive and be grateful for the ‘joy of life’, thanking her friends and family for their kind gestures of support and gifts to make her day better.

She wrote: ‘So yesterday was always going to be a tough one – 1st birthday in 16 years without Derek – so for the kids & I, his abscence was very present.

‘But we resolved to do what I think we are all having to do at the moment aren’t we – treasure & be grateful for the love around us – however distanced we are from it .

‘And focus on the joy of life & love in the moment – the small things that are huge & really should be at the core of everyday but usually the everyday gets in the way.’

Kate accompanied her post with two pictures – a throwback snap of Derek in his younger years at university, and a picture of the birthday cake she received from her I’m A Celebrity campmate Roman Kemp.

She continued: ‘So THANK YOU so much for all your messages they mean such a lot, to the friends @itv who sent chocolate for the kids & uplifting smellies for me , to mates who dropped off food, posh teabags & milk & made me smile at silliness ( derek is a great believer in the healing power of silliness), to my amazing family, to derek’s friends who sent me messages of fun times they have had with him

‘( pictured is when Derek was editing a student newspaper – insert your own “ his taste in birds” joke here!)

‘And the strangers who got this cake >>> from @romankemp & all at @global & worked out it was actually meant for me ( was it the bourbons that gave it away??!!) – THANK YOU all.

‘But most of all thank you to the NHS teams keeping derek still with us e& battling everyday to inch him toward recovery #hope #positivethinking #standtogether’

Kate had remained silent on social media on her 53rd birthday on Monday as she spent the day with her children Darcey, 14, and William (Bill), 10.

Her GMB colleague Ben Shephard wished her a happy birthday as he updated viewers on her husband’s condition,

The TV presenter, 45, was appearing on the show on Monday after taking over for Piers Morgan who went into self-isolation after displaying symptoms of the disease. 

Ben gave his best and said Kate and her family were ‘keeping everything crossed’ for her other half continued to fight COVID-19.

Wishing her well, he said on the show: ‘I wanna say happy birthday to Kate, who turns 40-13 today.’ 

‘She is with her family and keeping everything crossed, obviously, because Derek is still critically ill but we just want to say happy birthday, Kate, however you can celebrate today.

‘I’m sure that Darcey and Billy have got a cake or something, but we’re sending lots and lots of love.’

Susanna Reid, who was co-hosting the show with him, added: ‘Yes, huge love to you and your family, of course.’ 

Last Thursday night, Kate shared a video on Instagram of herself applauding with her family, writing that they have ‘so much to be grateful for tonight.’  

‘Derek is still with us but what a battle it is. So grateful too for our amazing NHS doing so much for Derek everyday,’ Kate wrote in a lengthy caption. 

Hours after her appearance, on Friday morning her GMB co-hosts Ben and Ranvir Singh gave another update and revealed former Blair adviser Derek, 52, remains ‘unresponsive’. 

On Good Morning Britain, after Ben read out Kate’s tweet, he said: ‘It’s a dreadful time and I think she’s at home with two children and trying to keep it going. It’s a total unknown. But as she said, as long as he’s here there’s absolute hope.’

He went on: ‘Twenty four hours at a time and she rightly pointed out, he’s getting extraordinary care, she gets the chance to phone in the evenings and talk to him.’

Ranvi reiterated he’s not able to respond yet: ‘He’s not responding yet, I don’t think’, before Ben quipped: ‘That’s pretty standard with Kate!’

In the original post from Thursday evening which Ben read out, Kate wrote: ”Wonderful to see all the support for them & our key workers every Thursday. We can’t thank them enough can we ? So brave,’  

‘Sending love to everyone during this ghastly time , particularly all those struggling for whatever reason- none of this is easy.’

‘Thank you so much for your messages – they mean so much to me. . Love and so much thanks from me and the whole family. X’

The video showed Kate banging pots and pans on the doorstep of her London home, before she turned to face the camera with a smile on her face. 

Last month, Ben revealed that Derek was in a coma in intensive care after contracting the virus.  

Kate shared another heartbreaking update with fans on her Club Garraway Wellbeing website last week, as she thanked them for their messages of support.

The presenter went onto praise NHS staff for their incredible care of her husband as he remains in a ‘deeply critical condition.’

Kate wrote: ‘You may have seen over the last few week that my husband Derek has been seriously ill in hospital with COVID-19. 

‘I am afraid that he remains in a deeply critical condition and is very ill, but he’s still alive so there is hope.

‘It remains an extremely worrying time for us all and the last couple of weeks have been the hardest of my life.

Kate went onto once again praise NHS staff for their incredible work caring for her husband, and thanked her fans for sending their own well wishes. 

She added: ‘From the bottom of my heart a billion thank yous to the extraordinary NHS workers whose skills, dedication and downright guts in the face of so much personal risk, are keeping my Derek alive, just as they are for thousands of other COVID patients

‘Sending so much love and support to the thousands who have had that hope for their loved ones stolen by this hideous disease. You are not alone and I hope that helps give you strength to withstand the torture of grief.

‘I wanted to send a huge thank you to all of you who have sent me such a wonderful messages wishing Derek well. It has meant the world to me.

‘I am sorry I have not been able to reply to them individually, as I am sure you will understand that I am focusing on my family and Derek right now.’

At the time, Ben shared another update on Derek’s condition on behalf of his colleague Kate while he co-hosted the show.

The previous evening Kate had written in a post about her husband: ‘He is still critically ill in intensive care, but where there is life there is hope’.

Speaking further about the former Blair adviser’s condition, Ben revealed to audiences: ‘She’s been able to speak with Derek in the evenings, in a coma. She’s been able to share music with him, talk to him.’

Ben continued: ‘She’s been able to talk to him, just to support him. A bit of reassurance [to him] hearing her voice.’

Kate also sent her thanks, via the show, to fans who have sent messages of support and admitted they have been a great source of comfort for her.  

He said: ‘She said she’s passed on the messages you’ve sent to her along to Derek as well so he’s getting a sense of the support and positivity coming from all of you… 

‘She can’t respond to everybody but in quieter moments when she has 10 minutes, she can scroll through and the support she’s getting from them is really helping… It’s really tough. It’s really tough because as she said he is critically, critically ill.’