Kate Garraway has appealed for help after receiving ‘unsettling post making demands’ of her late husband Derek Draper ‘which obviously he can’t respond to.’
The Good Morning Britain star announced in January this year that her husband, former political lobbyist Draper, had died at the age of 56 after a lengthy battle with the long-term effects of Covid.
The final year of his life was documented in an ITV documentary titled Kate Garraway: Derek’s Story, which followed on from two other programmes about Draper’s battle with Covid and her struggles navigating the care system.
Three months after his death, broadcaster Kate, 56, tagged Haringey London Borough Council in a plea on X, which she said had been sending mail addressed to Draper.
She said she had been trying for ten days to speak to a council worker about the post but ‘could not get through’ on its phone lines.
‘@haringeycouncil please help – have been trying for ten days sold to speak to someone about my husband passing away – following unsettling post making demands which obviously he can’t respond to,’ the ITV presenter wrote.
‘I just cannot get through.
‘Again today nearly 50 mins wait & before I could …. the man put me straight back to the beginning – another 20 mins and then it timed out as shuts at 5pm.
‘Is there a bereavement service or SOMETHING!!!!.’
Kate did not clarify what the post was referencing or what ‘demands’ were being made.
It comes after the third documentary saw the TV star reveal that the £16,000 monthly cost of her late husband’s care was more than her salary from ITV and caused her to rack up huge debts.
In her most recent documentary, she said candidly: ‘I am in debt. I can’t earn enough money to cover my debt because I am managing Derek’s care and I can’t even use the money I do have to support Derek’s recovery because it’s going on the basics all the time.’
She added: ‘I’m not going to pretend that I am poorly paid, I have an incredible job that I love, which is well-paid, but it’s not enough.’
Kate, who also had their family home adapted once Draper was discharged from hospital, estimated her debts to be between £500,000-£800,000.
She later added that she does not ‘regret or begrudge’ the debts.
Kate said she wants her late husband’s legacy to be fighting for change in a care system, which feels like it is ‘there to catch you out’ when it should be there to ‘catch you when you fall’.
Metro.co.uk has contacted Haringey Council for comment.
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