Kate Garraway's husband Derek Draper, 56, dies after long-running Covid health battle

Kate Garraway's husband Derek Draper has passed away aged 56.The Good Morning Britain presenter announced the sad news after Derek was back in hospital following a heart attack last week and was left fighting for his life.Former political aide Derek suffered various medical complications after he was first hospitalised back in March 2020 with covid and spent more than a year in hospital.He nearly died six times at the height of his fight with the virus however, it left lasting damage to his body.Derek suffered a series of health setbacks including inflammation of the brain, kidney failure, and liver and pancreas damage.Kate paid tribute to her husband of 18 years on Instagram this morning, writing: "I’m sad to have to tell you all that my darling husband Derek has passed away.

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. Join the Daily Record's WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. "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.

I have so much more to say, and of course I will do so in due course, but for now I just want to thank all the medical teams who fought so hard to save him and to make his final moments as comfortable and dignified as possible.

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."We'll be bringing you the very latest updates on this breaking news story.