Good Morning Britain (GMB) presenter Kate Garraway cares for her husband Derek Draper and she has spoken about the “very lonely and very difficult” time she’s had.

The former political adviser fell seriously ill with Covid-19 in March 2020 and was left with long-lasting damage to his organs and needing daily care.

Most nights Garraway sleeps for around four hours and she hasn’t taken a day off since he became sick, according to The Sunday Times.

The 56-year-old told the newspaper: “Caring for someone you love is a privilege, and I will never give up, but I want to champion the cause that everyone in my position faces because I know people are drowning trying to navigate through the care system.

“We talk about a crisis but it is beyond crisis. It is very lonely and very difficult, and I at least do have that voice.”

Kate has made two documentaries which detail her family’s life as Draper battles the long-term effects of coronavirus.

Both programmes have won National Television Awards in the authored documentary category.

She was recognised with an MBE in the 2022 New Year Honours for her services to broadcasting, journalism and charity.

She said: “I worry that I’m failing on every front, at everything. But I’ve got to keep going and fight on for Derek.”

Last November, on the day of a GMB episode, Kate had to go to hospital with chest pain, she revealed.

Garraway said: “When I went back, they (the doctors) said ‘Ye-ah, we don’t think you’re strong enough to do stressor tests’… funnily enough… I mean, oh my God, we’ve had enough stressor tests.”

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She also said her husband has developed a “weird choking” and his inability to breathe out carbon dioxide or breathe in oxygen “is slightly poisoning his body all the time”.

She said her husband becomes “very emotional about the strain this has put on me” but having an illness can “strip you of your empathy”.

She also said she has never had a “period where we could say ‘Well, at least he’s safe now’.”

In April, Kate and Derek were invited to be Sir Elton John’s guests of honour at his Farewell Yellow Brick Road concert at London’s O2 Arena.

Despite being in and out of hospital, Derek was with Kate in June when she collected her MBE from the Prince of Wales in an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.

Kate also said her “children’s lives are passing, my life is passing” and it is “no longer possible to live in crisis mode”.

She added: “If he was more physically stable, if we knew more about the parameters, if we knew how much of the old Derek can be retrieved, I’d be able to reason more.”

Kate is also the author of two books following Derek’s health struggle - The Power Of Hope: The Moving Memoir From ITV’s Kate Garraway and The Strength Of Love: Embracing An Uncertain Future With Resilience And Optimism.

The Strength Of Love: Embracing An Uncertain Future With Resilience And Optimism is not yet published but will become available in hardback on Thursday.