Kate Garraway forced to use pension money to pay off 'belated bills' after Derek's death

Kate Garraway has confessed that she's been forced to dip into her pension funds to pay off "belated bills" following the death of her husband, Derek. The Good Morning Britain presenter, 57, returned to our screens on Monday, May 6, where she engaged in a poignant conversation with guest Lindy Kirk about her own health struggles.

Lindy found herself in unbearable pain and wheelchair-bound, facing an 18-month wait for a life-changing operation. She chose to go private, paying £15,000 for a quicker solution - a predicament that resonated deeply with Kate.

"You need every penny of that pension", Kate remarked, before revealing: "I'm doing something similar myself."

The television personality disclosed that she had to withdraw tax-free amounts from her pension to cover her late husband's medical expenses. "I've just had to withdraw the bit you can tax-free for my pension to pay belated bills for my husband that passed away."

Turning to Dr Amir Khan, also present in the studio, she added: "People are having to do the things which aren't what they saved for and some people don't have any savings at all.", reports the Mirror.

Kate has been open about her financial difficulties, which mounted during Derek Draper's prolonged fight against Covid-19 after his diagnosis in 2020.

Sadly, Derek passed away earlier this year at the age of 56 due to the virus, leaving his wife with the daunting task of covering his medical bills - which totalled a staggering £16k per month for basic care and mobility therapy.

While on the set of the ITV morning show, Kate Garraway confessed her financial struggles, expressing feelings of "ashamed", especially given that her well-paid job wasn't enough to cover expenses. "I am ashamed of the fact that I am in debt", she admitted, "because I have an incredible job that I love, that's very well paid."

She further commented: "I'm not a carer travelling miles, paying their own transport to go and help somebody for minimum wage. I'm somebody that is very well paid and so I just feel a shame that I couldn't make it work."

Kate initially revealed her financial concerns in a documentary aired in March, titled 'Kate Garraway: Derek's Story', which followed Derek's final year. "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", she disclosed.

"I am in debt. I can't earn enough money to cover my debt because I am managing Derek's care and I can't even use the money I do have to support Derek's recovery because it's going on the basics all the time."