Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary have paid an emotional tribute to Derek Draper on This Morning after his death aged 56.

Tributes have been pouring in for the former lobbyist and political adviser, who was married to GMB presenter Kate Garraway, who died after suffering long-lasting symptoms from coronavirus.

The ITV show covered his death today (Friday, January 5) shortly after Kate, 56, announced her ‘darling’ husband’s death on Instagram.

Alison began: ‘Now we have some really sad news to bring to you. Derek Draper, the husband of our very own Kate Garraway, has sadly passed away.’

Dermot then read out Kate’s post in which she said Draper died ‘surrounded by his family in his final days and I was by his side holding his hand throughout the last long hours and when he passed.’

Referencing Kate and Draper’s two children, daughter Darcey and son Billy, Alison concluded: ‘We just want to say that all of us here at This Morning our sending our love to you Kate and of course Darcey and Billy.

This is a breaking news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

For more stories like this, check our entertainment page.

Follow Metro.co.uk Entertainment on Twitter and Facebook for the latest celeb and entertainment updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.

His wife Kate Garraway announced his death on Instagram.