Who is Kate Garraway's husband Derek Draper? What did he do for a living? A look at the couple's life together following his death at the age of 56 after a long battle with Covid

Derek Draper, the husband of TV presenter Kate Garraway passed away at the age of 56 after his battle with long COVID.

That was reported earlier Christmas the Good morning Great Britain The 56-year-old host prepared their children for a heartbreaking Christmas after Derek suffered a heart attack.

Kate Garraway had left her work commitments after the incident to maintain a 24/7 vigil with her husband.

But who is Kate Garraway's husband Derek Draper and what did he do for a living?

But who was Derek Draper? MailOnline takes a look into the life of the former political adviser and psychologist (photo: Mr Draper in 1998)

Who was Kate Garraway's late husband Derek Draper?

Derek Draper was born on August 15, 1967 in Chorley, Lancashire.

He attended Runshaw College, Leyland before further studying at the University of Manchester.

During his political career as a lobbyist and political advisor, he also served as a researcher for Secretary of Labor Peter Mandelson.

Mr Draper became director of lobbying firm GPC Market Access in 1996 and co-founded the New Labor organization Progress with Liam Byrne, who later became an MP.

Derek was originally from Chorley, Lancashire. He later pursued a career in politics, as a political consultant and lobbyist

Derek later spent three years pursuing a career in psychotherapy and trained as a psychotherapist in California.

By the late 1990s he also became involved in the world of print journalism, working as political editor of the Modern Review.

He was also a brief columnist for the Daily Express and later a presenter on Talk Radio UK.

In 2009 he founded his own blog, the LabourList, but later resigned as editor-in-chief after a scandal over leaked emails.

Leaked correspondence between Derek and Gordon Brown's special adviser Damian McBride revealed that McBride suggested Derek use the platform to smear Conservative politicians and their associates, according to reports The sun.

On August 23, 2019, Derek decided to resign from his Labor membership after 25 years.

Kate's husband was also an accomplished author, writing books such as Life Support and Blair's 100 Days.

How did Kate Garraway and Derek Draper meet?

Kate and Derek were introduced in 2004 by GMTV political editor Gloria De Piero (photo: Kate and Derek at the 2007 National Television Awards)

The couple married in 2005 in Camden, London. They were planning a second wedding fifteen years after their wedding, but this was unfortunately postponed due to Mr. Draper's health problems.

Derek supported his wife when she was awarded an MBE for her services to journalism in June last year (pictured in June with Kate's parents Gordon and Marilyn after his wife collected her MBE)

The former editor and Kate Garraway first met in 2004 after being introduced by Gloria De Piero, then GMTV's political editor.

Garraway was previously married to Meridian boss Ian Rumsey but divorced two years before meeting Derek.

The couple married a year later in Camden, London, and would renew their vows fifteen years after their wedding.

Unfortunately, due to Mr. Draper's tough battle with COVID-19, their wedding plans were put on hold.

In a 2020 interview with Fabulous, Kate said: 'We had planned the wedding for the end of the summer, but I don't think we'll book anything now because we don't really know what we can do.'

Who are Derek Draper's children?

The couple share two children, Darcey, 14, and William, 10 (family pictured in 2019)

The Good Morning Britain presenter said she felt she wasn't 'equipped' to raise her children through their teenage years without her husband (family pictured in 2018)

The couple shares two children, Darcey and William.

The couple welcomed their eldest child, Darcey, on March 10, 2006.

More than three years later, Kate gave birth to their son William, affectionately nicknamed Billy, on July 28, 2009.

Darcey and William were 14 and 10 years old when Derek first contracted COVID-19.

In an interview with The times in September 2023, Kate shared that she was worried about her children amid her husband's health struggles.

Looking back on their lives, Kate confessed that she isn't “equipped” to raise their teenage children without her husband.

“My instinct is to always keep everything right, keep everything nice, but he was always good at stand-up rows.

'He said it was all about setting boundaries, so I always felt he would be great in their teenage years.

Derek returned from hospital after 13 months but never fully recovered (pictured with his family in their garden)

“So I feel like, 'Derek, without you, I'm not equipped for this.' And that makes me miss old Derek so much.”

Kate appeared on Heart Breakfast alongside Amanda Holden and Jamie Theakston that same month and discussed her husband's health problems and the impact on the family as a whole.

“We still don't know how much better Derek can get, or worse. So every time he's rushed to the hospital, we're still in that adrenaline phase of 'is this the moment he can be taken from us?'

“But there are also so many peaks of progress that no one gives up hope that there won't be any movement forward, so it manages that roller coaster. Sorry it wasn't particularly clear.'