Kate Garraway said she was “honoured” to have been by her late husband Derek Draper’s “final hours”.
The former political lobbyist died of cardiac arrest on January 3 at the age of 56 after years of struggling with multiple health complications from contracting Covid.
Presenter Kate, 56, previously told how she held his hand “through the last long hours and as he died” after suffering a heart attack before Christmas.
Speaking on LBC News on Friday, she thanked the doctors and nurses who “fought for his life” and explained that she wanted to let Derek know “not to give up”.
Recalling his final moments, Kate said: “I wanted him to know that I wasn't giving up, because when you're as trapped as they think you are, in a body that's very damaged and failing, then I didn't want to that he thinks that 'we left him.'
Kate Garraway, 56, said she felt “honoured” to have been by her late husband Derek Draper’s side during his “final hours”.
The former political lobbyist died of cardiac arrest on January 3 at the age of 56 after years of struggling with multiple health complications from contracting Covid
She continued, “He kept going through situations that they didn't think he could handle.” So I think there's a little bit of peace, but also a sense of unreality.
“I think it was actually a great honor for me. You can't thank the people around him enough who never stopped fighting for his life but also somehow managed to hold people on.
“It was a great honor to be with him in those last hours and to have that.” I think of all the people during the Corona crisis who didn't have that, and I think of all the circumstances in which people didn't have that.
“Of course life is like that and things happen to people and that doesn't mean you can't be there.” “You take what you're given, but I thought it was a nice thing to be able to do that for Derek.”
This comes after Good Morning Britain viewers claimed ITV bosses had made “a rookie mistake” by signing Ben Shephard to This Morning because he worked so well with Kate.
Ben, 49, was a support for Kate after she returned to the show just days after her husband Derek's funeral.
When This Morning announced that Ben would now be the permanent presenter alongside Cat Deeley following the departure of Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, some viewers wondered why bosses decided to end a good TV partnership.
On X, formerly Twitter, one wrote: “Not sure why they would give Ben the job when he works really well with Kate and Susanna at gmb.”
Presenter Kate previously told how she held his hand “through the last long hours and as he died” after suffering a heart attack before Christmas (pictured with her daughter Darcey and son Billy).
Speaking on LBC News on Friday, she thanked the doctors and nurses who had “fought for his life” and explained that she wanted to let Derek know that “they are not giving up”.
This comes after Good Morning Britain viewers claimed ITV bosses had made “a rookie mistake” by signing Ben Shephard to This Morning because he worked so well with Kate
Others called for Kate to take on a new role as presenter of This Morning alongside Ben.
They wrote: “Ben and Kate would have been perfect!” and “Sad Ben is leaving GMB, he and Kate work so well together.”
Kate spoke about the support Ben had given her during Derek's health battle, saying he had been brilliant in the weeks since her husband's death as many didn't know what was the right thing to do for their family should say.
She said OK! When Derek first got sick in 2020: “He was phenomenal. For 20 years Ben had to do so much for me, but this year it was a whole other level.”