KATE Garraway has revealed Derek Draper planned his own funeral in hospital.
The dad-of-two also begged TV presenter Kate to keep his worsening state secret from their kids.
In an extract from Kate’s new book The Power of Hope, the 53-year-old describes the moment Derek’s health plummeted after being taken to hospital by ambulance.
After being told she could see him before he was put into an induced coma back in March 2020, Kate feared he was dying.
She says his skin was “icy blue”, he was shivering, drenched in sweat and was delirious.
“Then he started to talk about a funeral,” she said.
“It took me a minute to realise he was talking about his own.
“‘I want you at the funeral,’ he said, his voice very weak, ‘but I’m not sure about the children.’
“Even saying that made him choke. He was gasping for breath, as if he had run a sprint in a smoke-filled room.
‘Don’t be daft,’ I said. ‘Stop talking about funerals. No one is going to a funeral. You’ve got to fight this.'”
Kate shared the devastating last texts she received from seriously ill Derek, as he told her he feared every breath could be his last.
He made clear he did not want their children Darcey and Billy to know how bad he was.
Derek started one of the texts, “OK, not for the kids. I’ve been playing down how really awful it is. It is second after second of being locked in a mask thinking every second you’re going to die. I think they now may want to put me to sleep.”
