Susanna Reid and Ben Shephard are among the mourners who have begun arriving for the funeral of former political lobbyist-turned-psychologist Derek Draper, the husband of TV presenter Kate Garraway, following his death last month.
Draper fell seriously ill during the early part of the pandemic in March 2020 and spent 13 months in hospital before he was discharged.
He died on January 3rd, aged 56, after suffering long-lasting symptoms from Covid.
Reid and Shephard, who work alongside Garraway as a presenter on Good Morning Britain, wore black as they attended the Church of St Mary The Virgin in Primrose Hill, north-west London, on Friday.
Garraway and Draper married at the church in September 2005.
Garraway (56) often provided health updates about her husband on the ITV morning programme and fronted two documentaries on the channel about how the family’s life changed following his illness.
The couple had two children, Darcey and Billy.
Draper, a prominent figure in New Labour in the 1990, who was also an author, was admitted to hospital in December when he had a heart attack.
Garraway announced her husband’s death on Instagram, with a post saying: “As some of you may know, he has been critically ill following a cardiac arrest in early December which, because of the damage inflicted by Covid in March 2020, led to further complications.
“Derek was surrounded by his family in his final days, and I was by his side holding his hand throughout the last long hours and when he passed.”
