Elton John pays tribute to Kate Garraway's husband Derek Draper - but how do they know each other?

Sir Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” world tour continued last night with the superstar, set to call time on his illustrious career after the completion of the tour and headline set at Glastonbury 2023. However, on this occasion Elton John took a moment to address two VIP audience members present at the event - Kate Garraway and her husband Derek Draper. The former GMTV co-presenter was in attendance with her husband and two children, Darcy and Billy, travelling from the North London home to attend as guests of Sir Elton.

Draper was the subject of a documentary, “Finding Derek,” which followed the couple's trials dealing with long covid, which has affected Draper to the point that Garroway has stated the effects of the illness has left her husband could leave him with no quality of life owing to the medical complications that have arisen. The former Labour party adviser first contracted Covid in March 2020 and spent over a year in hospital and at one stage was told he could die in three days if he did not have around-the-lock attention to his needs - something Garroway has dedicated her life to as of late. 

The effects of long Covid can include a range of physical and mental symptoms, such as fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain, joint pain, muscle weakness, cognitive difficulties, depression, and anxiety. It is not yet fully understood why some people develop long COVID while others do not, but it is believed that a combination of factors such as the severity of the initial infection, underlying health conditions, and individual immune responses may play a role.

Announcing their presence to the audience at London’s O2, Sir Elton John told fans in attendance the couple are “inspiring. They’ve never given up and I’m so thrilled they’re here, I can’t believe they are here. I want to dedicate this song to the people I mentioned before, but especially to you guys,” before launching into a version of his hit duet with the late George Michael, “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me.” 

The link between Sir Elton and Garraway comes after she revealed that she would play his works to Derek while he was in the hospital.

Speaking to GMB, she explained how her family ended up attending the event; “Elton John contacted me. It was so strange. I was like, ‘Elton… John?’

We do have a mutual friend, which I didn’t know about. And because of all the work he does with the Aids Foundation he was like, ‘What can I do to help? I know a bit about antiviral stuff. And I’m on board. I’ll try to help. He’s incredible.”

Speaking of incredible, Sir Elton John has recently also admitted the ideal location he would like to take a holiday after the completion of his farewell tour - Antarctica.

Fast becoming a celebrity hotspot, with Ed Sheeran even giving his daughter the middle name of the icy continent, Sir Elton’s partner David Furnish has admitted that ““Our sons both want to go to the Antarctic and Elton wants to go to the Antarctic as well. It has been identified as a goal by everybody.”

So that yellow brick road we’ve been saying goodbye to ends in Antarctica it would seem.