Kate Garraway, 53, is a well known face on UK morning TV but in the past year her name has become one entangled with heartbreak, empathy and hope. Her husband Derek Draper, 53, is now the longest surviving COVID-19 patient in the country, after being admitted to hospital a year ago where he still remains, but she notes that the change in his body is “shocking” after he lost eight stone in intensive care.

A documentary following Kate and her family’s struggle over the past year is set to air on ITV this month, after film crews began to capture his health battle last summer.

The harrowing account will show footage of Derek at his sickest with glimpses of his recovery.

But Kate warned fans that what they will see will leave them in a state of shock.

“The change in his body is shocking,” she said in a recent interview.

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It comes after the former lobbyist was hit with the full force of Covid, that ravaged his entire body.

The illness has affected his kidneys, damaged his liver and pancreas, and caused his heart to stop on more than once occasion.

On top of all this he also caught pneumonia with numerous other infections leaving holes in his lungs.

The epic fight to stay alive has seen him lose a whopping eight stone whilst spending months in intensive care, and it’s these changes that left even his nearest and dearest staggered at his current physical appearance.

Knowing that her situation is that of other families around the UK, she has been updating viewers regularly on the ITV show, giving hope that there may be light at the end of the tunnel not just for Derek, but for others too.

“I’m sure there’s plenty of people who think, ‘Why is she going on about it all the time? My husband’s sick too,” Kate admitted to The Times.

“But inevitably, because of the job I happen to do, I’ve talked about the situation on air because it would be weird not to.

“I know this sounds a little bit holier-than-thou, but I’m also very conscious that I have a voice that other people don’t. So it’s really important to say stuff that I’ve experienced because I will not be alone in those experiences.”

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