Kate Garraway, on Good Morning Britain, challenged Matt Hancock head-on about the time she couldn’t see her husband Derek Draper in the hospital during the outbreak.
The 55-year-old Derek was initially admitted to the hospital in March of 2020, when he was diagnosed with Covid-19. Since then, he has received continuous treatment at his home.
The former lobbyist’s health has deteriorated over the past two years due to the virus’s effects on his body. He has suffered from renal failure, liver damage, and pancreatic damage, among other symptoms.
Health secretary Hancock resigned in June 2021 after being seen on camera kissing his assistant, Gina Coladangelo, in violation of social distancing norms.
Susanna Reid, who had been questioning the politician about his time on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! with Richard Madeley, asked Garraway to moderate a debate about the MP’s response to the epidemic on Tuesday’s GMB.
You’re a symbol, Kate, of everyone who was affected by Covid at the outbreak’s first stages — not just Derek. Reid said, “But you’ve also met so many individuals who have been touched by Covid and who have been suffering long Covid, health workers, via your videos.”
‘How do you feel sitting here in the studio, sitting here with Matt Hancock, the health secretary at the time? Are you able to put your personal feelings to one side?’
Following an admission that some of Hancock’s government initiatives that may have been “helpful to people” were “swept away,” Garraway addressed the fervent reaction that his participation on I’m A Celebrity elicited from outraged fans.
‘As soon as it was announced he was going in, people immediately contacted me because I’ve been in the jungle,’ the 55-year-old said.
‘When you talk about the moment that you fell in love, and was seen – was caught – falling in love, and whether it was guidelines or legal, and you say that’s irrelevant, because you morally felt that you did wrong… I suppose the problem is that because you were health secretary and because at that time I couldn’t visit Derek in hospital, he couldn’t see his kids, thousands of others couldn’t go and see the people they loved for various reasons because they were following the guidelines.’
Many individuals “out here in the world” don’t have a clear understanding of the social distance norms, Garraway said.
‘It gives the impression that you still don’t get why they’re cross. You still don’t get why people are upset, because that amount of money is vast to everybody,’ she said.
The host went on to say that while other I’m A Celebrity contestants may have earned comparable pay, the public is “holding [Hancock] to higher account” due to his government involvement during the epidemic, even if the celebrities may have received identical payments.
The respondent conceded that he understood where Garraway was coming from with his questions about people’s anger.
Despite his insistence that he wasn’t “mainly” doing the programme for the money, it was recently revealed that he had earned a fee of £320,000 for I’m A Celebrity, and had donated only £10,000.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV.