Kate Garraway has admitted she could need to step down from her presenting work to care for her husband full time.
The Good Morning Britain star’s husband, Derek Draper, has now been in hospital for a year after contracting coronavirus in March 2020.
Derek has been free of Covid-19 since June, but the disease has wreaked havoc on his body, which Kate will go into more detail about in the upcoming documentary Finding Derek.
In one part of the documentary, Kate is seen talking about her husband’s condition with their 11-year-old son, Billy, as she discusses whether she will need to quit work should Derek return home.
During renovations on their home to make it more accessible, Kate tells Billy: “You know that we are hoping that dad will get better and better, but when he comes home he will probably need to be in a wheelchair, so we are trying to make it so he can do all this.
“And if I have to give up work to care for him then it is best to do it now when I am earning money.”
She adds: “If he needs 24-hour care I will be the primary carer. I have a fear of the reality of that life. It is a completely different dynamic to our relationship.”
A spokesperson for Kate has since told HuffPost UK: “Kate will not be giving up her role on GMB, in fact, her job has been something of a lifeline and really kept her spirits up over this past year and she has no plans to change that.”
During Tuesday’s show, Kate told co-host Ben Shephard: “I’m not going anywhere! In fact the reality is, is that ITV and Global and Smooth radio, everybody has been so supportive and to be honest being here has kept me sane.
“Not just because you’re all amazing supporters but people at home are so supportive and it’s a slice of normal, it’s a slice of life before. The truth is as much as I like to think I have all the answers sometimes, Derek doesn’t need me, I’m not the person to care for him.
“I will obviously be there completely, 100% if that would make a difference but actually what Derek needs is specialist, professional, medical support ongoing because there is a good chance he can improve but we need to make sure that support is there now for that to happen, and whether that be remaining in hospital or whether that be something else – I would like to be home – but it is not just a case of you know I would want to sit there and hold his hand but people in this situation need expertise and I’m not an expert.”
In another recently-previewed scene from the ITV documentary, Kate is seen on a devastating call to Derek, during which he tells her he doesn’t know “how to cope”.
The presenter – who also has a show on the radio station Magic as well as her GMB role – told The Mirror this week: “Derek had been drifting in and out of consciousness and when he said that, it was absolutely devastating, but it showed me he was still in there.
“Even though it was terrible to think his spirits were so low.”
Kate Garraway: Finding Derek will air on Tuesday night at 9pm on ITV.