Kate Garraway was told husband Derek Draper 'may have died' in hospital mix-up

Kate Garraway has spoken about the terrifying moment in her husband Derek Draper's COVID treatment when she was told he "may have died", in a mix-up over patient names.

The Good Morning Britain presenter, whose husband has spent long months in hospital with the disease, has revealed that early on in his treatment she faced an agonising 24-hour wait to be told whether he was still alive.

Talking to The Sunday Times, Garraway, who has two children with Draper, said she called the hospital for an update and was told: "He may have died. Somebody will call you back."

She said of the awful moment: "I was just sitting on the phone, waiting to know if he’d died or not.

"Then it turned out that somebody had died who had a similar name to his."

Read more: Kate Garraway says husband has been 'ravaged' by coronavirus

Garraway has often spoken about her family's traumatic year, which has included Draper being placed in an induced coma as doctors tried to treat him.

She said: “The very worst moment was when they said he could be locked in for ever. And I just thought, this is a horror story. I don’t know if he’ll ever have any kind of life again. We just don’t know."

Draper, who has recovered from COVID but has not regained consciousness from his induced coma, is now the UK's longest-surviving COVID inpatient.

Garraway will present a one-off documentary about the family's battle in which she will also meet other people affected by the pandemic and discuss the long-term effects COVID can have.

Read more: Kate Garraway struggles as lone parent while Derek Draper is in hospital

She recently told Hello! magazine: "In the darkest of times you can find goodness and love just when you need it most and helping each other is the only way we will get through this grimmest of times.

"I've learnt about the kindness of strangers. It has been the toughest of times for me and my family, as it has for so many others and the good wishes and sympathy from viewers and listeners has really helped."

Watch: Kate Garraway hails kindness of strangers during husband's COVID battle