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Original poster

Derek Draper - an invasion of privacy?

192 replies

Montespan · 23/03/2021 18:09

I’ve been a bit horrified by the trailer I’ve seen for Kate Garraway’s documentary about her husband’s struggle with coronavirus. It included a shot of him in hospital.

I see Kate Garraway has said that given his interest in mental health, her husband would want his journey to be shared. But, is it ethical or even legal to rely on assumed consent to having such very personal information - and even footage -shared?

I do appreciate his wife means well, and has been through a lot - but i really can’t see how Derek Draper had the capacity to give informed consent to this, and in the absence of consent I don’t see how itv can show this.

Disclosure- a big part of the reason I’m so horrified by this is that I myself have been near death in intensive care (some years ago). I would have been utterly aghast if footage of me distressed & in pain had been shared. Horrified. Appalled. Humiliated. The experience was such a deeply personal one, for me & my family. Not one for the public to gawp at.

It worries me that a tv company can have such a cavalier approach to consent and privacy in a medical setting. Does anyone share these views?

OP posts:
GetOffYourHighHorse · 23/03/2021 19:40

'He will definitely have given consent for this'

Yes but I would imagine after everything he has suffered and probably strong meds he may not be best placed for making rational decisions.

Keep a diary, film every milestone to show him at a later date but to show him at his most vulnerable on TV really doesn't seem in his best interests.

CovidCorvid · 23/03/2021 19:43

How do you know she doesn’t need the money? They could have a big mortgage, two kids at private school?

Suddenly potentially lost his income/wages and possibly no access to savings.

CatsNotDogs · 23/03/2021 19:43

I will never understand how ANYONE either in the public eye or not can broadcast their personal lives over social media anyway never mind mainstream news and with something so very private. I know it's each to their own and all that but still. I think it's very sad what they are going through and I really hope he recovers of course, but FFS there are thousands of people suffering all over the country due to covid we don't need her daily updates. Please turn off the cameras and deal with your trauma in private. ENOUGH.

AStrangerToHerself · 23/03/2021 19:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

YellowandGreenToBeSeen · 23/03/2021 19:44

@CovidCorvid

How do you know she doesn’t need the money? They could have a big mortgage, two kids at private school?

Suddenly potentially lost his income/wages and possibly no access to savings.

Because I know.
JJSS123 · 23/03/2021 19:45

I think I remember something Kate said about her coming back to work and I think it was before Derek was seriously ill but I think she said what do I do and he said you keep working kate think of the kids,

Maybe she’s just got that In her head. No one knows her financial situation maybe she needs to do this. His parents are alive I think and surely they would of all had a conversation.

I still don’t know if I personally think it’s right

DianaT1969 · 23/03/2021 19:46

If you know she doesn't need the money (I assumed she did). Then what do you think is her motivation?

I really like her and have been rooting for him to get better. But am also uncomfortable with this invasion of his privacy when vulnerable.

CoffeeRunner · 23/03/2021 19:47

I’m sure Derek himself would have given consent for this footage to be shown.

BonnieDundee · 23/03/2021 19:47

How do you know she doesn’t need the money? They could have a big mortgage, two kids at private school?

Suddenly potentially lost his income/wages and possibly no access to savings.

Because I know

Oooooooh Grin

GetOffYourHighHorse · 23/03/2021 19:47

'The contract will have been incredible and watertight for exactly the reasons you state. It will have been raised at the very first meeting'

Oh I'm sure the contract is legally 'watertight'. Is it ethically watertight though. I dont think so.

Anyway, I wish them all well, it's been a hard year for many it does seem cruel to be criticising this but I feel sorry for him, it seems so voyeuristic.

JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff · 23/03/2021 19:48

Tbh I think this about a lot of medical programmes.

I was in some waiting room a while back and they had some programme on about real life GP visits, behind closed doors or something. There was a young girl on with her mum and I thought how awful, if her classmates can get that footage in a few years. Prime bullying material.

Also One Born Every Minute. It's impossible to tell how a birth will go and I wonder if those women later regret things like having permitted showing ill babies, brutal deliveries, mums with LDs who may not fully appreciate what they're signing up for....

They're all horribly exploitative and whilst I am sure they're legal I find them really distasteful.

YellowandGreenToBeSeen · 23/03/2021 19:49

Christ. Woman who works in media who is married to a man who works in media decides to tell their story in the media and people on social media rip her to shreds before they’ve even watched it. Who knows what her / their year had been. Fucksake.

Slow. Fucking. Hand. Clap.

canigooutyet · 23/03/2021 19:50

Screwed up world if she can some how consent to this but not access money

YellowandGreenToBeSeen · 23/03/2021 19:51

@JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff

Tbh I think this about a lot of medical programmes.

I was in some waiting room a while back and they had some programme on about real life GP visits, behind closed doors or something. There was a young girl on with her mum and I thought how awful, if her classmates can get that footage in a few years. Prime bullying material.

Also One Born Every Minute. It's impossible to tell how a birth will go and I wonder if those women later regret things like having permitted showing ill babies, brutal deliveries, mums with LDs who may not fully appreciate what they're signing up for....

They're all horribly exploitative and whilst I am sure they're legal I find them really distasteful.

They have the right to withdraw consent after filming.
KitchenFairy · 23/03/2021 19:51

He’s extremely unwell, he looks to be in a terrible condition.

Is anyone in that state able to give informed consent to such a huge thing and a huge invasion of privacy as this documentary?

I can understand that he could consent to small, normal day to day things, but this? I’m not so sure.

ajandjjmum · 23/03/2021 20:03

@YellowandGreenToBeSeen

Christ. Woman who works in media who is married to a man who works in media decides to tell their story in the media and people on social media rip her to shreds before they’ve even watched it. Who knows what her / their year had been. Fucksake.

Slow. Fucking. Hand. Clap.

I agree. She knows him better than anyone. Although she may earn well by many standards, I'm sure like us all, she lives up to her earnings and has suddenly lost one wage. She's doing what she can to keep things going, and in an industry she knows.
tangerinelollipop · 23/03/2021 20:21

If they kept the filming and aired it once he was home, consented and was 100% aware fine

^This

I'm sure she means well, but I felt really sorry for him

tangerinelollipop · 23/03/2021 20:24

They have the right to withdraw consent after filming

I guess the problem with the general public is that one probably doesn't know exactly now everything will be portrayed, the narrative, how will one be made to come across, etc

pabloescobarselasticband · 23/03/2021 20:25

Who is anyone to judge? We are not in her position, we don't know him like she does! We don't know what he would or wouldn't want, she is in the position to know! How anyone can judge her after what she has been/ is still going through is beyond me .

LizzieSiddal · 23/03/2021 20:28

The bits I’ve seen in the media are just heartbreaking and agree it’s a gross invasion of privacy.

She could have told her story of this year without showing him in hospital.

flippertygibbit · 23/03/2021 20:34

@nevertrustaherdofcows

She's screwed money-wise isn't she? No one in their fifties ever thinks to grant a Power of Attorney, so she cant touch accounts in his name. If this documentary keeps the wolf from the door and keeps the kids in their schools, I should think he'll swallow his pride and be bloody proud of her one day, even if he doesn't have that level of cognitive function now.
Actually my DP and I have our wills, POA and advance directive in place for some years - he under 50 at that point and me still under 50 now. Having said that purely did it because of sorting out the mess left behind by grandparents!
blowinahoolie · 23/03/2021 20:41

Playing Elton John won't help the poor guy😬

Hopefully he makes a speedy recovery, but I do wonder about his rights over the filming of this documentary 🤔

flippertygibbit · 23/03/2021 20:42

I imagine she needs to keep the wolf from the door and presumably she knows him well enough to know what he would find acceptable to provide for her and the children.

Apart from publicly available information the only people who will fully know the financial situation is them and their accountant.

Chooseausernamenow · 23/03/2021 20:42

@StarCat2020

I thought this every time the news showed a patient in ICU and then made a point of saying that their family had given their consent.
Couldn’t agree more. A family member’s consent is not the same as the patient giving consent. Poor Derek isn’t getting any say in it. It’s a massive invasion of his privacy and gives him no dignity.

As much as I feel very sorry for Kate and her family, showing footage of him seem so inappropriate.

CeibaTree · 23/03/2021 20:46

Why were these private moments even being filmed in the first place? I was quite horrified when I saw the trailer - I have an interest in mental health too but there is now way I would want to be filmed like that at my most vulnerable and certainly not then shown on national TV.