by What did you miss?
Kate Garraway has hit back at trolls who criticized her following ITV’s announcement of new documentary Derek’s Story.
Derek Draper died aged 56 after a long battle with COVID, having first contracted the virus at the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Paying their respects, Elton John and Tony Blair attended at Draper’s funeral and the political lobbyist’s daughter, Darcey, 17, helped with the transport. his chest.
The award-winning documentaries Finding Derek and Caring for Derek are followed by a documentary that looks at the last year of his life. After hitting headlines on Wednesday, Garraway revealed on Thursday morning that she had already received some hate.
What, how and why?
Garraway told her co-hosts Ed Balls and Susanna Reid: “I’ve had a few comments on Twitter, ‘Oh for goodness sake, what now?’ And I knew that would happen because people don’t understand and probably haven’t gone through what maybe Derek and millions of other people across the country have experienced. So I hope people understand why .”
Reid comforted her colleague by sharing a positive tweet from someone named Pip, whose husband died of brain cancer in 2022 and asked her to share her story as well.
She read out the tweet which said: “A few weeks before he died he asked me to tell his story. The story of his cancer journey, the care he gave to us, his family and his amazing carers Sophia and Mo. I paid tribute his wishes in my eulogy at his funeral. I think it was important that his wishes be fulfilled. That his voice be heard.”
“Well I’m glad,” Garraway replied. A mum-of-two has lifted the lid on why the time was right to tell her late husband’s story. She said: “It’s important not to walk away from something, just like the person who made the life of our family very relevant is not there. It wouldn’t be right for Derek it wouldn’t be right for all those inside of. the system.”
She explained further saying: “I hope people understand. There are also moments of great joy as there always have been along the way as you know but I hope that will be good.” Referring back to the tweet, she said: “That’s interesting what Pip said.”
Referring to the less than positive messages she received, the Balls presenter showed great support for her colleague and urged her to ignore the hate. He said: “It would be upsetting to our viewers if you took a few nasty negative things seriously. You have millions of people on your side. It’s absolutely the right thing to do. Don’t ignore that hate !”
Garraway agreed: “Absolutely, I get a huge amount of love.” Understanding the hate, she said: “It’s fine to have a bit of hate along the way. People have their opinions. I knew some people would say that. But for millions of others it will help – and indeed Derek and the children – it felt like the best thing to do.”
What do we know about Derek’s Story?
The film went into production with Draper and Garraway in May 2023 and Draper said in his own words that he wanted to tell his story, saying: “I want to be heard.”
Garraway revealed that she questioned whether they would share the final documentary after Draper’s death. She did, however, explain why she felt it was important to tell the world this last part of Draper’s story and how the film honors him.
She explained: “Obviously, when we started making this documentary early last year, we had no idea what events would eventually lead to Derek being taken from us.
“But I didn’t want to let those who have given us so much support over the past four years, and the paid and unpaid carers who have sent me thousands of letters, feel that Derek’s story has given them a voice. I remembered so vividly that the idea of making this third documentary came from Derek himself.”
She added: “I am delighted that the film is a tribute to Derek, his incredible spirit and a tribute to all those who fight to make every second of life count, no matter what is thrown at them.”
ITV’s factual controller, Jo Clinton-Davis, said: “We can see in Derek Draper’s story, the individual tragedy of a life destroyed by illness, but also the wider view of how a family is affected. Derek is keen to have his story filmed, together with Kate in their home, they provide insight into their personal struggles as well as highlighting the daunting challenges of caring for a family member at home within our system care.”
Colleen Flynn, executive producer at Flicker Productions, said: “We thank Kate and Derek for sharing their story at such a close time and we hope this film goes some way to highlighting the need for it. the positive change they both hoped for within the care. system.”
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV1 & ITVX.
