Kate Garraway says husband is still 'terribly affected' by COVID battle

Kate Garraway has shared that her husband Derek Draper is still “terribly affected” by his long battle with COVID.

The presenter’s husband spent more than a year in hospital after falling ill with the coronavirus.

He returned home in April last year but now needs round the clock care.

Updating viewers on Good Morning Britain, Garraway said: “Obviously he is still terribly affected by COVID, and undoubtedly it has had an effect on certainly brain connections to his body.”

Read more: Kate Garraway 'still hoping for a miracle' for Derek Draper

Her co-host Ben Shephard asked: "So not just physical wellbeing, but mental wellbeing as well?"

"I don't know about mental wellbeing if I'm absolutely honest because he is still so affected in terms of communication and mobility that I wouldn't feel qualified to say whether it had had an impact in terms of depression and anxiety,” Garraway replied.

"I mean it must be, I would have thought, because if you are still unable to communicate and very challenged mobility wise, and lung, and all the other things, then that’s going to affect anxiety."

The TV star chronicled her husband’s fight with the illness in the documentary Finding Derek, which won a National Television Award last year.

And she is now set to share another glimpse into his progress in a follow-up programme called Caring For Derek, which is due to air next week.

Read more: Kate Garraway reveals FaceTime call with Derek after NTA win

Draper and Garraway tied the knot in 2005 and have two children together - son Billy, 12, and 15-year-old daughter Darcey.

Watch: Kate Garraway dedicates award to her husband Derek Draper