Kate Garraway has received a response after complaining to her local council about “unsettling post” that was being sent to her home addressed to her late husband.
Earlier this week, the Good Morning Britain presenter publicly reached out to Haringey Council on X (formerly Twitter), asking for help.
“I have been trying for ten days solid to speak to someone about my husband passing away – following unsettling post making demands which obviously he can’t respond to,” she wrote. “I just cannot get through.
“Again today, nearly 50 minutes wait, and before I could [speak to anyone] the man put me straight back to the beginning – another 20 mins and then it timed out as [the phone line] shuts at 5pm. Is there a bereavement service or SOMETHING?”
During Thursday’s edition of Good Morning Britain, Kate shared: “This is not an attack on Haringey Council, it was born out of utter frustration.
“I don’t like putting things onto Twitter but many good people, including [money-saving expert] Martin Lewis, say that often the people who monitor social media are more staffed than the people who have to answer phones.”
She continued: “This is particularly to do with posts, bills, demands, threats of bailiffs still going to Derek – even though I’ve been paying those things, but I have a different name on some accounts – and not being able to get through to anyone to say, ‘This person has passed away’. I’m sure I’m not alone in that.”
Kate added that since her post, Haringey Council has contacted Kate directly asking for her personal information to resolve the issue.
“Hopefully it will get resolved!” she said. “But then it shouldn’t be because you’re on the telly and you tweet something that these things happen, should it? Because I’m sure there’s many people who are railing against it without that.”
Kate’s husband Derek Draper died in January, at the age of 56, almost three years after suffering life-changing damage due to Covid complications.
Last month, the daytime anchor spoke publicly about the debts that had left her at “crunch point” due to the cost of Derek’s care.