GMB star Kate Garraway reveals she had bailiffs at her door while late Derek Draper was in a coma in hospital
KATE Garraway today revealed how she had bailiffs at her door while her late husband Derek Draper was in a coma.
The Good Morning Britain presenter, 58, opened up about a tough time she faced while her husband was stricken in hospital with a Covid-related illness.
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Kate - who's husband Derek sadly passed away last year - revealed her shocking story during today's GMB.
Her revelation came during a chat with money expert Martin Lewis who is campaigning to change the way councils call in debts of unpaid council tax.
Kate - who has been faced with a stressful £800,000 debt battle following the death of her beloved husband - then revealed how whilst her husband Derek was in a coma after being stricken by Covid, bailiffs turned up at her house.
She revealed it was after she had unknowingly not paid her council tax for six weeks.
Kate explained the reason for the bill going unpaid, was because her husband was responsible for paying the council tax.
She said she had "no idea" it was going unpaid - otherwise she would've paid it.
Kate revealed how "awful" it had been for her family when bailiffs suddenly turned up at her door, especially during such a tough time.
FINANCIAL NIGHTMARE
This latest revelation comes after The Sun revealed how in her struggle to pay back huge debts.
The cost of caring for Derek during his four-year health nightmare ran into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
At the same time, Derek's psychotherapy firm Astra Aspera Ltd - which was jointly controlled by Kate - went bust owing hundreds of thousands to creditors, including a huge sum to HMRC.
GMB's Kate Garraway reveals she still can't pay 'excessive debt' for late husband Derek Draper's care - on anniversary of his death
A liquidator's report revealed how Kate has been trying to repay debts as well as a more palatable revised total.
HMRC has submitted a preferential claim of £288,054, a third of its previous submission of £716,822. It's not known why the HMRC have dramatically dropped their demand.
There are also creditor claims of and £196,548 from four other firms including a £50,000 bank loan.
However, at this stage, there will be no pay out for any creditor after liquidator fees of £32k and 40 per cent of assets have been realised.
A representative for Kate said: "Kate has met all that the liquidators of Derek's company have asked for and more over the past four years.
'She doesn't recognise these figures and is shocked that it's being presented in this way by them.
"Caring for Derek and supporting her family when Derek could no longer run his own businesses has taken a huge financial toll on her but she's determined to put things right.'
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MORE MONEY WOES
Meanwhile, earlier this week, Kate revealed she had been hit by another financial blow.
The popular presenter told fans she's been frozen out of her bank accounts after changing her phone.
Taking to social media to beg the bank for help, she wrote: 'Please please get in touch with me.
'I have not been able to access any of my Barclays accounts current or savings since Friday due to changing my phone handset and can't get through to anyone on customer service - please dm me.'
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