Piers Morgan opens up about an astonishing conversation he had with Derek Draper during his phone call to Kate Garraway.
The former GMB host, 56, interviews his former co-star Kate in his last ever Life Stories this evening.
Kate, 54, opens up about her incredibly difficult two years after husband Derek, also 54, became the worst affected living Covid patient in the UK after spending 13 months in hospital.
While he has since returned home, Derek requires around-the-clock care and Kate says that the virus has "devastated" him and that he still is unable to largely communicate.
However, Piers reveals that he was left surprised after speaking to Derek the night before the interview.
Opening the show, Kate - who is mum to 15-year-old Darcey and 12-year-old Bill, explains: "It does feel as though I walked through a fiery furnace or fell down a rabbit hole. The world went dark and still looking for the light at the end of the tunnel, really."
"Derek is thought to be the worst affected living Covid patient in the United Kingdom," Piers points out. "He spent 13 months in hospital - the longest stay of anyone who survived the disease. What has Covid done to your husband?"
"It's devastated him," she says. "From the top of his head to the tip of his toe. His digestive system, his liver, his kidneys, his heart, his nervous system. We're pretty sure that the inflammation did pass through the brain.
"He still can't communicate, he still has issues with mobility. Fundamentally, he's in a terrible state. Look, he's alive, Piers."
Piers points out: "We had a moment last night when I rang you about this interview. Without warning, you said to me, 'Why don't you talk to Derek?' and Derek replied when you said it was me, very loud, clear, 'Hello.'
"And I said a few things to him and at the end he said, 'Thank you'. I was stunned."
"Well, so were we," Kate replies. "The carers that were with me at the time burst into tears. I mean, I don't want to suggest you're a healer Piers but it was a remarkable moment. It's moments like that that make you realise that he is in there.
"And we've had others - he will turn to me and say, 'I love you.'"
Piers continues: "Every time he says something like that, there's that hope coming back at you saying, 'I'm here, I'm alive, keep going.'"
Kate nods: "I think you're right and I think I'm going to cry already. He is there! He's fought so hard to stay in this world and I'm not giving up on him ever. He will have moments of clarity and it's like he disappears again."
*Piers Morgan's Life Stories airs tonight at 8pm on ITV
