Latest news with #KateGarraway
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Good Morning Britain's Kate Garraway reveals she had bailiffs turn up at her door while her late husband Derek Draper was in a coma in hospital
Kate Garraway has revealed that she once had bailiffs turn up at her door while her late husband Derek Draper was in a coma. During Friday's instalment of Good Morning Britain, the presenter, 58, opened up on the tough situation she faced while her husband was stricken in hospital with a COVID-19-related illness. Speaking to money-saving expert Martin Lewis, who is campaigning to change the way councils call in debts of unpaid council tax, she revealed: 'Martin this is extraordinary. I've experienced this you know, when Derek was in his coma. She continued: 'In the latter half of 2020, somebody came to the door, a bailiff, it was all in Derek's name and they said: "You have to pay your years council tax plus the fines because we've been chasing you with letters." 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 have paid it. She continued: 'It was my fault, I hadn't been opening the letters in his name because my head was in another place. 'And I've experienced the speed, as what happened was six weeks between him you know finding them, because he was in a coma, he hadn't paid our council tax, to having bailiffs at the door. 'And I, of course, am in a much more fortunate position than the sort of people you're talking about.' Following the admission, Kate was seen making her way to another job - hosting her Smooth Radio show in London. It comes after MailOnline revealed earlier this week that Kate had suffered another financial blow amid her £800,000 debt battle. The presenter had been frozen out of her bank accounts after changing her phone handset and reached out to Barclays Bank on social media in a desperate plea for help on Tuesday. Kate said that she had been unable to access either her current or savings account since Friday and hadn't been able to speak to anyone in customer service. Taking to X, she wrote: '@Barclays 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.' Kate's message didn't go unanswered this time and a customer service rep responded to her through the Barclays X account. They wrote: 'Could you please pop into our DM's with your full name, postcode, contact number, and we can take it from there together. 'I've popped a link on this message that will take you through to us in DM. If you do have any other questions then please do let me know as we are here 24/7 for you. Thank you!' It's the latest financial blow for Kate who has been dealing with debt following her husband Derek's death. The presenter has openly discussed how she has been left with debts between £500,000 and £800,000 after caring for her late husband. Political lobbyist Derek died at the age of 56 in January 2024 following a four-year battle with long Covid with Kate paying £16,000 a month for his care. Now, a new liquidator's report has revealed the large tax costs that are yet to be paid by Derek's now-defunct psychotherapeutic company Astra Aspera. The company, which was jointly controlled by Kate, went bust owing hundreds of thousands of pounds to creditors, including a large bill to HMRC. Filings on Companies House have revealed how Kate has been trying to pay off the debt, with HMRC now submitting a lower revised total in a small boost. HMRC's latest preferential claim stands at £288,054, which is around a third of its previous 2023 submission of £716,822, according to the documents. It is not known why HMRC dropped the payment, and the filing has claimed there are also 'insufficient funds to pay a dividend to secondary preferential creditors'. According to The Sun, Kate has so far paid back £21,000. Addressing the filing, Kate's spokesperson told MailOnline the 'shocked' TV star 'doesn't recognise these figures' and is in contact with HMRC to make sure she 'honours what is required'. Their statement read: '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. 'She is in constant contact with HMRC to make sure she honours what's required from Derek's now-defunct company.' Kate said that she had been unable to access either her current or savings account since Friday and hadn't been able to speak to anyone in customer service Kate's message didn't go unanswered this time and a customer service rep responded to her through the Barclays X account Derek battled long Covid for four years before his death and Kate has openly discussed the devastating financial toll of funding his care during that period. When Derek wasn't in hospital, he had to be looked after 24/7 at home by his wife and a team of carers. Derek battled long Covid for four years before his death and Kate has openly discussed the devastating financial toll of funding his care during that period. When Derek wasn't in hospital, he had to be looked after 24/7 at home by his wife and a team of carers. In January, Kate explained how she has been left with 'excessive un-payable debt' as she spoke about dealing with the funding of his care. She shared: 'The family and I have been talking about the challenges we faced this time last year, one of the overriding ones, he went back into intensive care before he passed away was dealing with the funding of care. 'At the time of his death, there were two appeals that hadn't been heard for funding. It kept being pushed back and pushed back. 'In the meantime, I'm lucky I have an incredible job which is well paid. I was having to fund the situation. 'Now I've got excessive un-payable debt because of it. If I'm in that position what else are people going to be?' In March 2024, the presenter revealed that she had been spending £16,000 a month on care for her late husband. She told Good Morning Britain: 'I am ashamed of the fact I'm in debt. I have an incredible job that I love, that's very well paid. 'I'm not a carer travelling miles, paying their own transport to go and help somebody for minimum wage.
The Independent
11 hours ago
- General
- The Independent
Kate Garraway's reveals bailiffs turned up at home whilst late husband was in coma
Kate Garraway revealed she had bailiffs at her door in late 2020 due to unknowingly unpaid council tax. She explained that the council tax letters were in her late husband Derek Draper 's name, and she had not opened them while he was in a coma. Garraway was unaware the council tax had gone unpaid for six weeks, as her mind was preoccupied with caring for her seriously ill husband. She shared this experience on Good Morning Britain with Martin Lewis, who is campaigning to change how councils handle unpaid debts. Watch the video in full above.
The Independent
12 hours ago
- The Independent
Kate Garraway reveals she had bailiffs at her door while late husband Derek was in a coma in hospital
Kate Garraway has revealed she had bailiffs at her door after unknowingly not paying her council tax whilst her late husband was in hospital in a coma. The presenter opened up about the 'horrible' ordeal on Good Morning Britain on Friday (20 June), telling guest Martin Lewis that the letters were in Derek Draper 's name and she had not opened them whilst he was in hospital. Garraway said she had 'no idea' that the council tax was going unpaid for six weeks and was shocked when bailiffs appeared at her property in late 2020. She told Lewis, who is campaigning to change the way councils call in debts of unpaid council tax, that her mind was 'in another place' as she cared for her late husband who fell seriously ill with long Covid.
Daily Mirror
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Kate Garraway feared 'pressure' to make decision over husband Derek Draper
Kate Garraway has been speaking about the Assisted Dying Bill on Good Morning Britain and told viewers she was in two minds about the proposed legislation Good Morning Britain's Kate Garraway has shared her concerns about the potential impact of an Assisted Dying Bill, admitting she might have felt "pressured" to make life-changing decisions for her late husband Derek Draper if such legislation had been in place. Derek passed away at the age of 56 on January 5, 2024, after suffering a heart attack just before Christmas 2023, following a long battle with Covid since his diagnosis in 2020, which left him needing constant care. Speaking about the bill set for a vote in Parliament on June 20, she expressed: "The medical professionals, though feel they would like to have clarity of law to help people, because...I've sort of been on both sides (and) I think there were times when I could have been pressured with Derek that there was no chance of recovery. "And to sort of assist... and fought very hard against it, which I was right to do, because he came through. But also (I've been in) a situation where somebody's been in an excruciating amount of pain and the last 10 days of their life were unbearable to watch, let alone, for them to endure, so I could see both sides but it's getting legislation that protects both, isn't it?". Additionally, Kate revealed another distressing incident during Derek's illness when bailiffs arrived demanding council tax while he was comatose in 2020. "In the latter half of 2020 somebody came to the door a bailiff. It was all in Derek's name, and they said, you have to pay your year's council tax plus the fines, because we've been chasing you with the letters. "It was my fault," she admitted candidly, revealing that she had neglected to open mail addressed to her comatose partner due to being mentally elsewhere, reports the Express. " speed that happened was six weeks between he was in a coma, he hadn't paid our council tax to having bailiffs at the door," she recounted the shocking escalation. Kate has been candid about her financial struggles since Derek's death having previously confided that she incurred significant debt due to her late husband Derek's care costs, which totalled £16,000 per month. In a previous admission, the 58-year-old mum of two, shared: "I've just had to withdraw the bit you can tax-free for my pension to pay belated bills for my husband that passed away. "I am ashamed of the fact that I am in debt because I have an incredible job that I love, that's very well paid. I'm not a carer travelling miles, paying their own transport to go and help somebody for minimum wage. "I'm somebody that is very well paid and so I just feel a shame that I couldn't make it work."
Daily Mail
14 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Good Morning Britain viewers 'wince' as Kate Garraway makes 'disrespectful and insensitive' joke at worst possible time - gasping 'I had to rewind to make sure I'd heard that right!'
Good Morning Britain viewers were left 'wincing' as Kate Garraway made a 'disrespectful and insensitive' joke at the worst possible time. Thursday's episode of the ITV breakfast news show saw the presenter, 58, with co-host Adil Ray, 51, report a particularly sad story to viewers. It was about British grandmother Yvonne Ford, 59, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, who sadly died from rabies this week. Kate explained: 'Did you see this extraordinary story about a woman, she was scratched very slightly by a stray dog whilst on holiday in February, that long ago, in Morocco. 'It wasn't even a particularly bad one at the time. It didn't seem to be infected. Then two weeks ago, she started to feel very unwell, has now passed away.' She added, 'It's made people very conscious because rabies is something we don't think about very much. It is astonishing' - before making an ill-timed quip. It came as she mentioned TV doctor Hilary Jones (pictured on Lorraine in May last year), 71, who often appears on the show for health and wellbeing segments It came as she mentioned TV doctor Hilary Jones, 71, who often appears on the show for health and wellbeing segments. She said: 'I mean, what the doctors say, if I can do my Dr Hilary at the moment for a bit, is make sure you get an inoculation. 'But also, if you have any kind of scratch from any kind of wild animal or animal abroad, get treatments right away, because then it can be stopped.' Rabies - which is passed on through injuries such as bites and scratches from an infected animal - is nearly always fatal. It typically takes between three and 12 weeks for symptoms to show but can also take longer in some cases. Viewers picked up on Kate's jokey reference to pretending to be Dr Hilary and felt the tone was not tasteful given the tragic nature of the story. One wrote on X: 'Classy Kate cracking a rabies joke just after reporting on a rabies death.' Someone replied: 'Noticed that too - made me wince. So insensitive.' Viewers picked up on Kate's jokey reference to pretending to be Dr Hilary and felt the tone was not tasteful given the tragic nature of the story 'Did Kate Garraway just make an attempted joke about rabies after talking about the sad death of the lady from Barnsley?', one user questioned in disbelief. Another commenter responded to them: 'Yes! I actually rewound it to make sure I'd heard right!' Someone else weighed in: 'Is this a new trend for your presenters to be disrespectful to people that have just died? 'Lorraine Kelly about Kim Woodburn yesterday then Kate Garraway this morning just before 7am about the poor lady that's just died after contracting rabies!' They were referring to ITV viewers being left fuming earlier this week at the 'disgraceful' way Lorraine Kelly announced Kim Woodburn's death. The presenter, 65, appeared unmoved as she reported on Lorraine earlier this week that the beloved cleaning star, 83, had died on Monday. As her ITV chat show came back after an ad break, Lorraine said to viewers, as a picture of Kim appeared on-screen: 'Welcome back! 'Some news just breaking in the last few minutes. Kim Woodburn, who I'm sure you know, well, she's died at the age of 83. 'Famous, of course, for [Channel 4 hit series] How Clean Is Your House and her controversial time on Celebrity Big Brother [in 2017]. 'A representative for Kim said, "It is with immense sadness that we let you know our beloved Kim Woodburn passed away yesterday following a short illness". Right, it is ten past nine.' Viewers felt the hurried, casual announcement, with Lorraine showing little emotion, was incredibly insensitive. One wrote on X: 'Lorraine, you are a disgrace, announcing the death of Kim Woodburn without a sorrow in your face!' Meanwhile, another weighed in: 'I'm actually shocked at the lack of empathy Lorraine showed announcing the death of Kim Woodburn.' Someone else blasted her for showing 'no feelings whatsoever' about the so-called Queen of Clean's passing. One user also said: 'That pathetic "tribute" from Lorraine Kelly to our Kim was an insult. She didn't sound the least bit bothered... how disrespectful.' It comes after Kate revealed this week she has been frozen out of her bank accounts after changing her phone handset. The presenter reached out to Barclays bank on social media on Tuesday in a desperate plea for help. Kate said she has been unable to access either her current or savings account since Friday and has not been able to speak to anyone in customer service. She wrote on X: '@Barclays 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.' Kate's message did not go unanswered this time and a customer service rep responded to her through the Barclays X account. They wrote: 'Could you please pop into our DMs with your full name, postcode, contact number and we can take it from there together. 'I've popped a link on this message that will take you through to us in DM. 'If you do have any other questions then please do let me know as we are here 24/7 for you. Thank you!' It is the latest financial blow for Kate who has been dealing with debt following her husband Derek Draper's death. The presenter has openly discussed how she has been left with debts between £500,000 and £800,000 after caring for her late husband. Political lobbyist Derek died at the age of 56 in January 2024 following a four-year battle with long Covid, with Kate paying £16,000 a month on his care.
