An emotional Kate Garraway fought back tears on Wednesday evening when she accepted the award for Authored Documentary at the 2024 National Television Awards.
Garraway won the award for her deeply personal ITV documentaryDerek’s Story about her husband Derek Draper, who died in early 2024 aged 56, after years of battling health problems brought on by Covid-19.
In her speech to a star-studded crowd at London’s O2 Arena, the 57-year-old Good Morning Britain host emotionally paid tribute to her late husband alongside her children, Billy and Darcey.
She said: “I really genuinely did not expect this, goodness me. This is a bittersweet one isn’t it? It’s very bitter to be here, with the gorgeous Darcey and Billy. I promised them they didn’t have to say anything. We’re halfway through the first year of firsts really. A first Easter and first birthday, without Derek. It’s so strange to be here for the first Television Awards without him.”
Garraway also used the speech to call for more support for carers in the health service, concluding by saying: “Derek, we’re going to keep the fight on for you.”
Derek’s Story which first aired in March 2024, told the story of Draper’s life in politics as an adviser to the Labour Party and his relationship with Garraway, who he had been married to since 2004. Draper suffered from profound health problems after becoming infected with Covid in March 2020.
He was rushed to hospital on Sunday 17 December after suffering a cardiac arrest that left him fighting for his life. Garraway announced the death of “my darling husband” in a statement on Instagram on Friday 5 January. “I’m sad to have to tell you all that my darling husband Derek has passed away,” she wrote.
Speaking on the red carpet to the PA news agency before Wednesday’s ceremony, Garraway said: “The comments I’ve had and the emails and the letters have been so wonderful, and so obviously it’s been very sad in a way, because you’d love him to be here, or even if he wasn’t well enough to be actually here then to be going home to tell him all about it. But on the other hand, he will be so happy, I think that the issues that he wanted raised are being raised and so hopefully that’s good.”
Garraway added that Draper would have been “proud” of his two children who “get very shy at these things but wanted to come”.