It’s been confirmed Kate Garraway’s documentary Finding Derek will land a follow-up, Caring For Derek, starring the Good Morning Britain co-host as she navigates life caring for her husband, Derek Draper.
In March 2020, Derek was struck with Covid-19, and remained in hospital for over a year battling the after-effects of the illness, which wreaked havoc on his body.
The author suffered from rare brain inflammation and the virus attacked his lungs, heart, kidneys, liver and pancreas, with doctors saying that Derek had the worst Covid infection of any surviving patient.
His battle was highlighted in Finding Derek, which aired in spring this year and documented how Kate and her family coped when her husband was in hospital, while she also spoke to others dealing with ‘long Covid’.
Caring for Derek picks up where we last left off and will show Kate and the family from the first moments Derek arrived home in April, to Christmas 2021 – a period of considerable upheaval and uncertainty.
Announcing the project, ITV said: ‘We follow Kate as she navigates the challenges of the social care system, negotiates the potential traps and unpicks the complexities that seem to be inherent in the system.
‘At a time when the debate about social care is at its loudest, this film goes beyond the rhetoric to explore the reality of living within
and relying on the social care system today.’
It added: ‘Above all, this film follows Kate as she embarks on a new chapter in her marriage, trying to find a new way of living and a new way of loving, like millions of families across the country in the same boat.’
Derek is now receiving 24/7 care at home, with the family home transformed to accommodate his needs, as he continues to battle the after-effects of the virus.
Elsewhere in the upcoming film, Kate will meet old friends Bobby and Julie, who are dealing with long Covid, which is something she attempted to unpack in Finding Derek, which took home the authored documentary award at this year’s National Television Awards.
Kate had previously revealed she was set to continue sharing Derek’s story with a follow-up to the earlier documentary, as she revealed: ‘We are going to make another documentary, there are plans for more.
‘Derek has a very short window of energy but we are tying. He has been home for four months now and it was enough for him being home.
‘Now we are really hoping we can have more and more people in to see him.’
Earlier this month, Kate admitted she hopes Derek will be well enough to travel to his hometown of Chorley over the festive period to visit his extended family.
She said: ‘The dream would be to get Derek to Chorley. At the moment, moving him is a big problem: it’s exhausting for him.
‘This year, we have got him home – and fingers crossed we can keep him home. Of course, he’s not going to be putting on his Santa costume, going out with [daughter] Darcey for a father-and-daughter Christmas shop or the same with [son] Billy.
‘None of those things are on the horizon at the moment so it’s adjusting to a new normal but also grateful he’s here at all. which we didn’t have at all last year and feared would never happen.’
MORE : Kate Garraway and Dua Lipa mix with Hollywood and TV royalty for Adele’s glittering one-off TV concert recording
MORE : Kate Garraway stunned as she discovers husband Derek was beds away from author Michael Rosen in ICU during Covid battles
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