Ben Shephard has revealed that the decision to send Derek Draper home is because his "recovery was stalling" in hospital.
Appearing on This Morning on Friday, Ben spoke to Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes about Kate Garraway's joy at having Derek home.
The 53-year-old returned to the family home on Thursday, after spending more than a year in hospital due to coronavirus.
After interviewing Kate on Friday's Good Morning Britain, Ben headed to the This Morning studio to chat about it some more.
"All of us are still reeling a little bit, this happened very quickly for Kate," he told Eamonn and Ruth.
"He was due to stay in hospital until the end of the year but that has changed dramatically over the last week. He’s gone backwards a little bit from what we saw in the documentary," Ben added, referring to the ITV documentary Finding Derek, which aired in March.
"She didn't want to force any of the physicians into letting him come home, but his recovery was stalling a little bit, he needed to come home, he needed that contact, and it suddenly happened and these things gather a pace.
"So to have him at home, to hear Kate talk about it, all of us were beaming. It's just remarkable.
"As Kate pointed out, and it's really, really important that we all understand this, this is the next page of a very big chapter and the journey is by no means over.
"But it's such an important step for her, and for Bill and Darcey and for Derek.
Confirming that Derek still needs constant care, Ben added: "The recovery is going to be pretty unique as well, he still needs 24 hour care.
"He's at home, she has a team of carers that are coming into the house to help and they've all got to get used to it. She says, 'it’s like having a ward at home now'."
Father-of-two Ben also recalled the day he got the phone call from Kate about Derek being admitted to hospital.
"I think back to when we spoke about it, I remember sitting down, I was having a tyre changed and sitting on a wall talking to her and telling her, 'I'm sure it will be fine', and then to think of the journey they've all been on..."
Ruth said of her ITV co-star: "I watched the interview and I absolutely gripped, she is such an extraordinary woman."
She then asked Ben if Kate was "feeling frightened" about the next steps of Derek's recovery.
"She sort of described it like coming home with a newborn," Ben replied, before adding: "But she is doing the most extraordinary job, she’s trying to be a mum and protecting Darcey and Bill, and looking after Derek."
*This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV.
