Derek Draper, the husband of Good Morning Britain presenter Kate Garraway, has been in a coma for ten weeks after falling ill with coronavirus.
Garraway described the moment when she came home to find him seriously ill in their house before calling an ambulance in an appearance on the ITV show on Friday.
Draper asked her to be strong for their two children, and told the children to “look after” Garraway, she said on the show.
Here we look at who Draper is, when he and Garraway got married, and his career.
Who is Derek Draper?
Derek Draper has been a political adviser, lobbyist, psychotherapist and journalist. He has also written two books.
He was affiliated for a long time with the Labour party, but resigned his membership in May 2019, citing a lack of “leadership”.
When did he and Kate Garraway get married?
Draper and Kate Garraway got married in 2005 in Primrose Hill, north London.
They have two children – Darcey, 14, and Billy, 10.
Garraway recently described her husband as “the core of our lives”.
His career as an author and lobbyist
Draper worked in politics for several years. He was a researcher and adviser to then-Labour MP Peter Mandelson in the 1990s.
He also worked for a political lobby group, and was a columnist for the Daily Express.
He lost his job at the Express after being caught by an undercover reporter claiming to be able to sell access to Government ministers.
He later became an accredited psychotherapist.
Draper founded LabourList, a news website and blog that is supportive of the Labour Party. He resigned from the editorship of the blog after it emerged that he was involved in the development of the controversial Westminster gossip website RedRag.
Government adviser Damian McBride sent Draper a list of ideas for RedRag, which included a plan to spread damaging rumours about Conservative politicians. No evidence for the rumours has been found.
Draper responded enthusiastically to the McBride’s email, describing the ideas as “absolutely totally brilliant”. McBride was fired and Draper later said he regretted his response.
He has written two books: Blair’s Hundred Days, about the start of the former Prime Minister’s premiership, and Life Support, a psychotherapy book.
When did he develop Covid-19 symptoms?
Draper fell ill with coronavirus in March 2019.
Garraway told ITV viewers on Friday how she came home to find him with a terrible headache and numbness in his right hand.
She soon called an ambulance and her husband was hospitalised. He was placed in a coma shortly afterwards as he was struggling to breathe.
Garraway said that Draper has now tested negative for the virus, but continues to suffer from the damage it has done, and remains in a coma.
She said: “The fight with the virus has been won, but it’s wreaked extraordinary damage to his body and we don’t know if he can recover from that.”
“It’s affected him from the top of his head to the tip of his toes.”
Draper has praised NHS workers for their ongoing work treating her husband.
Her fellow Good Morning Britain presenters have shared their best wishes and provided viewers with updates throughout Draper’s illness.
