KATE GARRAWAY. DEREKS STORY. TUE 26 March - ITV 9pm

[Blondeshavemorefun]

This will be a real tear jerker

i watched the two previous programmes she and Derek did

this is the final year of Derek life and told in his words

Kate Garraway (https://uk.news.yahoo.com/tagged/kate-garraway/) will front a new ITV programme documenting the last year of her late husband Derek Draper’s (https://uk.news.yahoo.com/tagged/derek%20draper/) life: Kate Garraway: Derek’s Story.
The Good Morning Britain (https://uk.news.yahoo.com/tagged/good-morning-britain/) star’s husband died in January (https://uk.news.yahoo.com/derek-draper-tributes-kate-garraway-husband-covid-123921217.html)
after his battle with COVID.

She previously made two programmes about his health struggles — Finding Derek and Caring For Derek — and will now share his final chapter which will air on ITV on 26 March.

The film starts in May 2023 and looks at the final year of Draper’s life, including both sweet family moments and an insight into his health battle.

But it also looks back and reflects on his life before he contracted COVID in 2020, including his career as a political adviser, his romance with TV star Garraway — who he has two children with — and how Draper’s illness changed their relationship while they maintained their close bond.

The film also highlights the challenges faced by those living with serious illness and disability and those who care for them and will feature contributions from Draper’s carer Jake.

The programme is set to air in just a few days, close to three months after Draper died at the age of 56.

It will be on ITV at 9pm on Tuesday 26 March.
Documentary was Derek Draper’s idea
Garraway has said that she hadn’t planned to make a third documentary but that the idea came from her husband.

Obviously when we started making this documentary early last year, we had no idea the events that would unfold that ultimately took Derek from us,” she said. “And in January 2024, after he had passed, I wondered if it was right that it should ever come to air.

"But I didn’t want to let those who have given us so much support over the last four years down, and the carers paid and unpaid who in their thousands of letters to me, feel Derek’s story has given them a voice. Also, I remember so vividly that the idea of making this third documentary at all came from Derek himself.”

She went on: “At the beginning of January 2023, he’d been released from a four month spell in hospital for sepsis and we were very positive about his recovery. Derek was determined to keep on getting better and improving.

One day, we were sitting together while I was caring for him and he suddenly, from nowhere, asked, ‘Are we making another documentary?’ I said, ‘Well I hadn’t really planned to. Were you thinking that you would like to?’ And he said firmly, 'Yes'."

The presenter said she told Draper it should be his story, in his voice, explaining: "Derek got very emotional at the idea, because his words and speech were so limited and there were so many things he wanted to say about the struggle we were all having as a family and he wanted to speak up about it."

When she asked Draper what his main message was, he replied: "Never give up fighting for what you believe in and for the people you love."
“We had to find a way of allowing Derek’s voice to be heard and while having to finish it without him has been so hard, I am delighted that the film is a tribute to Derek and his incredible spirit,” she added.

Carers and long covid. Some people have found her telling her story and speaking out helpful. She has a platform and a voice others don’t have available to them. If you don’t find her helpful, that’s ok. Others do.

Non preventable conditions still benefit from awareness.

She has said she did the third programme as Derek wanted to, not that she had to justify herself to anyone.

Thankyou Kate for highlighting a broken system and the complex love of caring. Money helps but is not the main factor. Caring strips you of so much and people just want to judge as they have no flipping clue what it’s like to be in this situation. Derek was a staunch socialist and I’m sure had the capacity to want to show the mess that is social care.

Not one of you knows her financial situation so stop judging.

So am watching now. Last May, he asked her, "Do you not?" with regard to whether she thought he had improved, which showed some improvement in itself as it was a spontaneous (active) question rather than yes/no/single (passive) responses.
His reading was quite fluent but his eyes seemed more vacant when he was answering questions about himself.
It is bloody tragic and one of the worst cases. I cannot comprehend how others don't see that.
She was misquoted about the and - it was more a case of what love languages were open to Derek now. I think the documentary is an insight into how dynamics change when you go from being equals to parenting your partner.

Completely agree with your post. A lot of what she has said has been twisted.

If she was speaking out about Covid and the care system that is of course fine. This is not the case. She is doing it for money despite what she already has in assets and despite this being the 5th time. Had she decided that even after the 3rd or 4th time she would donate to a carer’s charity having realised her position it would be more palatable. The fact you actually mention that she spurred one couple to actually donate is kind of nauseating considering she hasn’t done it herself and is still creaming it for all it it worth from her multi million pound properties.

That said however, I do think the tea comment was misconstrued.

You have no idea of her financial situation. She has said she did the third programme because Derek wanted to. You also don’t know whether she donates to charity.

Awhhhh come on!! 5.5 million in properties? All that money from 3 documentaries and 2 books? If Derek wanted to why not donate the proceeds from the third documentary? You know to help carers.

The documentary highlighted that one in five women aged 55-60 is a carer.
I think the documentary was worthwhile, absolutely - it highlighted the issue for many, including giving voices to other carers.

Derek used to be charismatic, bombastic, articulate.
Although in the interviews, he is coherent, he's clearly no longer who he was.
He didn't remember Liz (or Peter).
He often had to be prompted to keep a conversation going.
He couldn't often reciprocate.
As he said himself, Covid changed everything.

God Love Kate for her optimism three years ago but it must have been devastating to witness and have to come to accept the new reality. Hard for her and the kids. As she said herself, a love but a different kind of love. And could be an absolute slog. I admire her honesty.

Three months before he passed, Derek was stagnating.
In December, the clot caused even more damage.
I was one of those who thought his passing was a blessing in disguise in that it meant no more pain for them but I'd never have voiced it or framed it as a relief.
I think she has been stoic throughout.

I also think the documentary highlighted the challenges for the paid carers. Jake came across well. I don't blame him for deciding to take a break from working in the care system. A shame, as we need so many compassionate carers like Jake but Kate is not wrong when she says we laud surgeons but belittle carers.

The take away from this whole documentary is spot on imho.
It's about having a society, where caring isn't a luxury.

You still have no idea of her financial situation, and pretending that you do is just making you look foolish.

You have no idea of her financial situation. How much equity is in the houses? How much she has made from books/documentaries? How much does she have in the bank? Etc. A lot of what she’s said about finances has been twisted, she’s talked about costs but I don’t see it as her complaining. In fact she said 'I have an incredible job and I am very well-paid, I'm not pleading poverty but that's why I felt I had to be that honest because if I can't afford it who can?’

Shes making her own money to try to pay her bills. How she does that is no one else’s business.

She has a platform to talk about problems carers face and long covid and she’s using it. If part of that makes her cash, why do you care?

Give me a break. Put on a programme with a normal person who is a carer. See how those two compare. One THAT highlights what real people go through. Not someone who has equity, earns half a million a year, private schools and multi million dollar houses crying poverty because they owed millions in unpaid taxes to people who will never get it back. She’s not pleading poverty? All she bangs on about is how much she owes. She has a platform alright snd it’s a lofty way higher than the thousands if carers battling it alone on a pittance.
If part of that makes her cash?? ALL of it is making her cash, every book, documentary and interview. It is well documented about her 2 houses worth 5.5 million. That is fact. Sell one, pay your debt and stop selling your dead husband’s death for money.

It’s all about cash. And profile raising (which she no doubt hopes will bring more cash).

I know someone who worked with Derek (I never met him though) and she’s very much not complementary. I still have sympathy with the poor bloke though as to how much he was exploited.

I think KG is quite aware that she may have gone too far now, so hopefully this is the end. There are other ways she could have raised the funds needed.

I don't know this, but I can't imagine that Kate and Derek's children were sent to private school, take his strong stance on equality.

There's quite an irony in the woman who has declared herself a voice for unpaid carers who herself paid carers instead of doing it herself....

Sigh

Do her kids even go to private school? She spoke about how good the homeschooling in lockdown was for her friends kids who were at private school and how she felt she’d failed her kids in lockdown regarding schooling. That sounded to me like her kids didn’t go to private school. Either way, it’s strange if you’re stalking her kids schools.

If there’s no equity in the house, selling it won’t pay her debt and maybe she’d rather try to get back to a good place financially and keep her homes. Who would sell their home if they didn’t have to. It’s between her and her mortgage lender.

Her house prices are well documented? Having just googled, it seems some papers say her houses are worth 4 million and 1.7 million whilst others report its more like 2 million and 1.7....nothing about equity. She may not own much of them at all and it’s between her and the bank anyway.

Unfortunately, people who don’t have a platform or fame don’t get listened to, so an average poor carer on tv of writing books wouldn’t hold much weight. Celebs/royals bring attention to causes more than the average person, it’s not fair but it is unfortunately how the world is.

It is her choice how she deals with her husbands death and how she makes her money.

She did do some of the caring. Do you think she should have given up work?

I think she was sensible to continue. Losing a partner is hard and having work gives you something else to focus on. A friend of mine said she would have sunk into even deeper depression without work when her husband was very sick and needed care. After he died, she feels that having the constant of work really helped both emotionally and financially. If Kate would have taken years off work, she may not have got her career back. I think she was sensible to keep work going. Also, there are aspects of care which she could never have done or done safely alone, things that involved lifting him.

Yawn. Whatever spin you try to put on it or try justify her grabbiness and her constant attempts to make money in every, single, possible way while the simpletons believe her every word on how she cannot afford heating but can jet her dying husband to Mexico to a witchdoctor. She is so far removed from reality it is laughable. Oh but she is laughing too…all the way to the bank 😂

She has acknowledged her privilege of having a well paid job and questioned how others are supposed to cope.

Others do cope though. On 1% of what she earns. Yet she is on tv crying saying she can’t afford heating!

Christ i hope Kate never sees this threads, there's some right pieces of work on it.

She will have seen the tabloids and social media saying exactly the same thing. She won’t care. Same was said after the second documentary and did it stop her? Absolutely not. I will give her this, she has a brass neck.