Entertainment
Ranvir Singh ‘crushed’ she can’t do more for Kate Garraway as husband remains in hospital
Good Morning Britain’s Ranvir Singh has opened up on her heartache at not being able to help her Good Morning Britain co-star Kate Garraway more, as her husband remains in hospital nearly a year after contracting Covid-19.
Derek Draper was placed in intensive care after testing positive for coronavirus in March last year and since then Kate has been raising their two children – Darcey, 14, and Billy, 11 – alone as he continues his recovery.
Speaking about her friend and colleague, Strictly Come Dancing’s Ranvir said she’s been supporting her pal from the sidelines, but lamented not being able to be there for her in a bigger capacity.
She told Hello!: ‘If I could be in her bubble and in her kitchen cooking for her, I would.
‘All I can do is call to talk or send things in the post. When Kate told me her kids are into eating fruit, I sent them a basket of fruit. Not being able to do more is crushing.’
She went on: ‘Kate’s having to be a single parent to their two children, which is so hard. I told her: “Being a single mum is like hiking in flipflops through the snow every day.”
‘But Kate is remarkable, a proper grafter.’
Kate previously opened up on turning to Ranvir – who is mum to eight-year-old son Tushaan – for advice.
The TV host told Good Housekeeping: ‘I’m lucky that I’m being supported by lots of friends, too, and Ranvir has been really helpful because she’s been operating as a single mum since her son, Tushaan, was very little.
‘I asked her, “How do you do it?” and she said, “You just have to accept that you can’t do everything”.’
She added: ‘I’m not sure I am coping! I honestly don’t know how single mums do it; it’s just so hard. A lot of the time I find myself thinking, “What would Derek say?” and “What would Derek do?”’
While Derek is now free of Covid-19, the virus has wreaked havoc on his body, leaving holes in his heart and lungs. The former political lobbyist has emerged from his deep coma but is in a minimal state of consciousness.
New pandemic guidelines in the UK have meant Kate has been unable to visit him since before Christmas.
Opening up on his recovery, she said on GMB recently: ‘He’s back into a situation [of] looking at strangers in masks.
‘That’s the situation for everybody at the moment who’s got someone in hospital, it’s not unique to him. It’s tough, it’s also the same for people in care homes.
‘When you’re someone like him that is dealing with a consciousness problem and trying to emerge, I can’t help but feel like it’s not very helpful.
‘Of course, there’s no end in sight. That’s a really tough thing… There’s no one to blame, there’s no one to be angry with, it’s the situation we’re all in.’
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