Kate Garraway has disclosed that the cost of caring for her late husband, Derek Draper, has left her with substantial debts. In her latest ITV documentary, 'Kate Garraway: Derek's Story', the Good Morning Britain presenter said the £16,000-a-month care expenses exceeded her salary from the programme.
Draper died in January at age 56 from long-term effects of Covid. The documentary, airing Tuesday evening, features his voice for the first time in the series, as he says: 'I want you to hear my story... I want to be heard.'
Garraway explained: 'Derek's care costs more than my salary from ITV and that is before you pay for a mortgage, before you pay any household bills, before you pay for anything for the kids, so we are at a crunch point. I am in debt. I can't earn enough money to cover my debt because I am managing Derek's care.'
She criticised the care system, stating: 'Time and time again the system tells us that Derek isn't sick enough, doesn't have enough of a health need to qualify for funded care. I've appealed but that still hasn't been processed two-and-a-half, three years later. If this is what it's like for me, what on earth is it like for everybody else?'
The documentary highlights broader issues in adult social care funding. Only those with high needs and assets under £23,250 qualify for council-funded care, a threshold unchanged for over a decade. Garraway's experience reflects the struggles of many families facing complex and underfunded care systems.
