Derek Draper, a former political adviser and husband of TV presenter Kate Garraway, has died after several years of serious health complications due to coronavirus.
The 56-year-old was said to be one of the UK’s longest-suffering COVID patients, spending 13 months in hospital after contracting the virus in March 2020.
He was left with extensive damage to his organs and needed daily care.
Image: Kate Garraway, with her husband Derek Draper and her parents Gordon and Marilyn Garraway, after being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2023
Garraway, who will be taking a leave of absence from her presenting role, posted a statement on Instagram this morning saying her “darling husband” had died and she had been “by his side holding his hand throughout his last long hours”.
She confirmed he suffered a heart attack in early December, adding that “the damage inflicted by COVID… led to further complications”.
“I have so much more to say, and of course I will do so in due course, but for now I just want to thank all the medical teams who fought so hard to save him and to make his final moments as comfortable and dignified as possible,” she said.
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“Sending so much love and thanks to all of you who have so generously given our family so much support. Rest gently and peacefully now Derek, my love, I was so lucky to have you in my life.”
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Garraway’s Good Morning Britain co-stars and other well-known faces shared their condolences under the Instagram post.
“Our whole hearts are with you all,” Susanna Reid said, while Charlotte Hawkins commented: “So desperately sorry Kate, it’s absolutely heartbreaking. So much love to you all.”
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Sir Elton John said: “So sorry to hear of this news, Kate. Love and thoughts to you and your family x.”
Former prime minister Sir Tony Blair, who Draper worked with in the 1990s, said he was “so sad” to hear about his death.
Image: Kate Garraway with Derek Draper in 2007. Pic: Alan Davidson/Shutterstock
“It is extraordinary and remarkable that Derek survived so long after the ravages of COVID. And that was in large measure due to the love Derek had for his family and they for him. This also says something very special about Derek,” he said.
“He was a tough, sometimes ruthless political operative, a brilliant adviser and someone you always wanted on your side.
“But underneath that tough exterior he was a loving, kind, generous and good natured man you wanted as a friend.”
Alastair Campbell, a fellow prominent New Labour figure, described Derek Draper as “a huge character”.
He posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Very sad to hear the news about Derek Draper. He was a huge character, a giver not a taker, and had so much more to give before COVID took its toll.
“Sad above all for Kate Garraway and the children. Their love and support was profound and unshakeable to the end. RIP.”
A prominent figure in New Labour in the 1990s, Draper worked for Blairite Peter Mandelson and set up the Progress organisation with Liam Byrne, who went on to become an MP.
After he was embroiled in the so-called “cash-for-access” scandal, dubbed “lobbygate”, he travelled to the US, where he retrained as a psychotherapist.
Garraway and Draper married in 2005, and have two children together. They celebrated their 18th anniversary in September, with the presentersaying on Instagram that she was “so glad” he survived to see it.
Image: Kate Garraway and Derek Draper in 2006. Pic: David Fisher/Shutterstock
Just a few days later, she published her book, The Strength Of Love: Embracing An Uncertain Future With Resilience And Optimism, chronicling the upending of life as she knew it when her husband fell ill.
“It’s a constant cycle of loving and losing, gratitude at surviving and grief for what’s been lost,” she said. “This book tells the story of how I am learning to find love and strength to help my family thrive and I hope what I have learned helps you to get through your own challenges.”
Garraway also made two documentaries about Draper’s health battle and his care, with both programmes winning National Television Awards in the authored documentary category.
Image: Derek Draper
In 2022, she shared a post on Instagram as the second show, Caring For Derek, received its nomination.
“The reason we made the documentary was to highlight carers, professional carers, and carers who are doing it for love and the tough challenges that that involves,” she said.
“As much as you don’t begrudge doing it, it’s very hard. You saw me frustrated, depressed, emotional, and I’ve been all of those and more in recent weeks and months.
“That’s the thing about caring; you want it to carry on because you want the person surviving and with you. But there isn’t an end point, and it doesn’t get any easier.”
US rapper Lil Nas X has been arrested and taken to hospital after being found walking in his underwear on a Los Angeles street and allegedly charging at officers and punching one.
Police said in a statement that officers responded shortly before 6am on Thursday (2pm UK time) following reports of a naked man, according to Sky’s US partner NBC News.
The LA force said that as officers went to the 11000 block of Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, the man rushed towards them.
“He was transported to a local hospital for a possible overdose and placed under arrest for battery on a police officer,” police said.
A law enforcement source confirmed to NBC News that the suspect was Montero Lamar Hill, also known as Lil Nas X.
The Old Town Road rapper punched an officer twice in the face during the encounter, according to the NBC source.
Officers were unsure whether he was on any substances or in mental distress, the source said.
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A representative for Hill did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NBC News cited TMZ footage where Hill was seen walking down the middle of Ventura Boulevard at 4am on Thursday in a pair of white briefs and cowboy boots.
Actor Noel Clarke has lost his High Court libel case against the publisher of The Guardian, over a series of news articles which featured claims from a number of women.
The first article, published in April 2021, said some 20 women who knew Clarkein a professional capacity had come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct.
The 49-year-old actor, writer and director, best known for his 2006 film Kidulthood and starring in Doctor Who, sued the publisher and vehemently denied “any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing” – but the court has found Guardian News and Media (GNM) successfully defended the legal action on the grounds of truth and public interest.
Image: Noel Clarke outside court during the trial in April. Pic: PA
The meanings of all eight of the newspaper’s publications were found to be “substantially true”, the judge, Mrs Justice Steyn, said in a summary of the findings.
“I have accepted some of Mr Clarke’s evidence… but overall I find that he was not a credible or reliable witness,” she said.
In her ruling, the judge also said suggestions that more than 20 witnesses, “none of whom are parties or have a stake in this case, as [Clarke] does” had come to court to lie was “inherently implausible”.
From the evidence heard, it was “clear that women have been speaking about their experiences of working with Mr Clarke for many years”, she said.
‘A deserved victory for women who suffered’
Lucy Osborne and Sirin Kale, the journalists who carried out the investigation, told Sky News they had always been confident in everything published.
“I think that this is not a problem that’s going to go away,” said Osborne. “This kind of behaviour very much still happens in the TV and film industry and other industries. So I do hope this judgment gives other women the confidence to speak out about what they’ve experienced.”
Image: Clarke rose to fame with his 2006 film Kidulthood. Pic: PA
Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner described the ruling as “a deserved victory for those women who suffered because of the behaviour of Noel Clarke”.
She continued: “Going to court is difficult and stressful, yet more than 20 women agreed to testify in the High Court, refusing to be bullied or intimidated.
“This is also a landmark judgment for Guardian journalism, and for investigative journalism in Britain… The judgment is clear that our investigation was thorough and fair, a template for public interest journalism.”
Clarke’s response
Clarke described the result as disappointing and maintained he believes the newspaper’s reporting was “inaccurate and damaging”.
“I have never claimed to be perfect,” he said. “But I am not the person described in these articles. Overnight I lost everything.”
He said he wanted to thank witnesses who supported his case, as well as his family, “who never stopped believing there was something worth fighting for”.
What happened during the trial?
The trial took place from early March to early April 2025, hearing evidence from multiple witnesses who made accusations against Clarke, including that he had allegedly shared nude photographs of them without their consent, groped them, and asked them to look at him when he was exposed.
Clarke also gave evidence over several days. At one stage, the actor appeared visibly emotional as he claimed the publisher had “smashed my life” with its investigation.
His lawyer told the court he had been made a “scapegoat” and was an “easy target”, as a star at the height of his success when the media industry “zealously sought to correct itself” following the #MeToo movement.
The actor had been handed the outstanding British contribution to cinema award at the BAFTAs just a few weeks before the report was published. Following the article, BAFTA announced it had suspended his membership.
But lawyers for The Guardian told how newspaper’s investigation was “careful and thorough”, saying it had been carried out “conscientiously” by the journalists involved.
In March 2022, police said the actor would not face a criminal investigation over the allegations.
The growing popularity and reach of the Premier League globally is leaving rival European football competitions struggling to compete.
Not only to find an audience, but to find outlets to even show the matches.
So German football had to think differently – going to where Gen Z is engaging with football through content creators.
And that’s why tonight, Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich will begin their defence of the Bundesliga title live to 1.4 million subscribers on the That’s Football channel on YouTube.
Image: Harry Kane in Bundesliga action last season. Pic: Reuters
It’s run by Mark Goldbridge, known for passionate but often provocative, punchy commentary about players on streams going viral.
His brand was built by being filmed reacting to watching Manchester United matches.
“People need to appreciate that we have a certain content style, and that’s very, very popular,” Goldbridge told Sky News.
“That is an area that needs to be catered [to] and that’s why, without the rights, we’ve had such big, big audiences.”
Goldbridge revealed he isn’t paying to show his 20 Friday night matches this season – reinforcing how the Bundesliga struggled to find a buyer in Britain.
Sky Sports previously had a four-year rights deal to exclusively show those German matches here, but will now only show the prestige Saturday evening slot live.
Image: Bundesliga teams Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig during their match in April. Pic: Reuters
European leagues are finding it increasingly difficult in this market to sell their rights because domestic football is so dominant and appealing.
The focus of football budgets is on domestic games for Sky as well as Discovery-owned TNT Sports, which also focuses its European football coverage on men’s continental competitions, including the Champions League.
More Premier League matches will be shown live than ever before – with at least 215 on Sky, the parent company of Sky News, and others on TNT.
Sky Sports also has live men’s rights to the English Football League and Scottish matches, as well as sharing the Women’s Super League with the BBC.
The Bundesliga is also making the games broadcast by Goldbridge’s channel available to the BBC to stream online. They will further be on The Overlap, a YouTube channel part-owned by Gary Neville.
Image: Behind the scenes of covering a Premier League game
‘A progressive step’
Bundesliga International CEO Peer Naubert said: “Our approach is as diverse as our supporters: by combining established broadcasters with digital platforms and content creators, we are taking a progressive step in how top-level football can be experienced.
“This multi-layered strategy allows us to connect with more audiences across the UK and Ireland, giving every supporter the chance to engage … in the way that suits them best.”
While the former England and Manchester United player is a star pundit on Sky, he could also be seen as a rival to the Comcast-owned broadcaster by attracting fans to newer outlets of his channel.
Goldbridge doesn’t see himself as a rival yet to long-established broadcasters.
“We’re not looking to replace what you can find on Sky or the BBC or anything like that,” he said. “This is a community that will be live with us, watching the Bundesliga, learning about it.
“And if I get a pronunciation wrong, or I don’t know about a player, then I’ve got my community there to back me up. I don’t profess to know everything.”
Image: Kane celebrates the Bundesliga title with his Bayern Munich teammates. Pic: Reuters
‘This is the future’
But he can be relatable to audiences, with more than two million subscribing to his The United Stand channel, earning him millions of pounds over the last decade.
“We’ve been there growing in the background and I think certain media outlets have ignored that, maybe hoping it would go away,” he said.
“I certainly think synergy and collaboration need to happen more because there are things in the mainstream that I don’t like and there will be people out there that really don’t like the way we watch football, but a lot of people do.
“And it’s about offering that choice to people and there are different ways people listen to football on the radio, people watch it with a commentator, some people turn the audio off completely, some people watch things like this (watch-a-long).
“And I think that is the future, to offer more choice.”