Kate Garraway: Derek’s Story | ITV documentary set to show the final year of Derek Draper’s life

A new documentary that follows the final year of Derek Draper’s life, narrated by his widow Kate Garraway, is set to air on ITV later this year. “Kate Garraway: Derek’s Story” will not only explore the former political advisor’s long-lasting symptoms from coronavirus but also highlight the cost of care in the United Kingdom.

The new documentary chronicles the story of Draper and his wife's relationship. They got married in 2005 and have two children, Darcey and Billy. The film showcases how the illness affected their lives and also sheds light on his political career before the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Obviously, when we started making this documentary early last year, we had no idea the events that would unfold that ultimately took Derek from us,” Garraway explained to ITV. “And in January 2024, I wondered if it was right that it should ever come to air.”

“But I didn’t want to let those who have given us so much support over the last four years down and the carers paid and unpaid who, in their thousands of letters to me, feel Derek’s story has given them a voice. Also, I remembered so vividly that the idea of making this third documentary at all came from Derek himself.”

Garraway previously chronicled the impact of caring for her husband, who died aged 56 in January after suffering a cardiac arrest, in two other ITV documentaries; “Finding Derek,” which won the documentary prize at the National Television Awards in 2021, followed by “Caring For Derek” which highlighted the complexities of the UK’s social care system - that too earned Garraway the documentary prize at the National Television Awards.

"Kate Garraway: Derek’s Story" will air on ITV1 and ITVX later this month.