GMB stars send emotional message to Kate Garraway as husband Derek fights for his life in hospital

Good Morning Britain co-anchors Richard Madeley and Charlotte Hawkins have sent a message of support to Kate Garraway and her husband, Derek Draper.

Over the weekend, it was reported that Kate, 56, had allegedly cancelled all upcoming TV appearances to be at the bedside of the former political lobbyist.

It’s said that 56-year-old Derek’s health had become worse after he suffered a ‘massive heart attack’ last week.

At the time, a source told The Sun that the father-of-two is 'fighting for his life' and now, Kate’s GMB co-stars have aired a poignant tribute.

Earlier this morning (December 18), Charlotte, 48, opened the show by saying: “We just wanted to start with an update. You have seen in the news over the weekend that Derek, Kate's husband, is sadly in a very serious condition at the moment."

Richard, 67, continued: “And we just want to let Derek and Kate and of course the whole family know that we are all here thinking of him.

“And we know many of you are as well. And that all of us send our very, very best wishes at what is a very, very difficult time.”

GMB/ITV

The former Sunrise presenter agreed, adding that the whole Good Morning Britain family were sending the pair ‘lots of love’.

Derek’s health plight first began back in March 2020 when he and his wife both contracted Coronavirus.

Unfortunately, while the author quickly recovered, her husband was put into a medically-induced coma and was hooked up to a ventilator.

After spending an astonishing 13 months in hospital, the former Labour Party figure returned home.

However, he has been re-admitted to emergency care on numerous occasions for the likes of brain inflammation and liver damage.

ANDREW MATTHEWS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Derek's latest health blow comes after he was 'apparently looking forward to Christmas at home with the family'.

“This setback has been a huge blow for his family and all the people caring for him,” a source told The Sun.

Last month, Kate revealed that Derek had returned to hospital due to experiencing a bout of ‘referrals and cancellations’.

Appearing on Loose Women on 23 November, the ITV star announced: "He's actually back in the hospital at the moment.

“I haven't talked about this, but not the horrific drama fortunately, because there have been lots of, as we all experience, referrals and cancellations.”

She added that he had been remitted due to something which had begun ‘last year’ which he needed the ‘second part of’.

In a recent interview with the Sunday Times, the presenter revealed that Derek had developed a ‘weird choking’ condition during a carer handover.

“It happened again just last weekend," she explained at the time. "For absolutely no reason he just went blue."

Kate revealed that he had gone on to ‘sort of vomit’ and after the incident, she knew they had just experienced ‘a really near miss’.

Our thoughts are with Kate, Derek and their children Darcey and William.

If you’ve been affected by coronavirus and want up to date advice, visit the Gov.uk help page here. If you need medical help call NHS 111 or visit online.