Kate Garraway revealed today how Derek Draper’s carer insisted that he wanted to carry her husband’s coffin at his funeral to ‘represent carers everywhere’.
The carer, known only as Jake, was among the pall bearers and mourners last Friday at the service at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Primrose Hill, North London .
Speaking to ITV ‘s Good Morning Britain three days after the funeral, Garraway said today that Jake told her during preparations: ‘I want to carry Derek.’
Garraway also revealed that she replied to him: ‘Jake, you’ve carried this family and Derek for long enough, take that burden off your shoulders.’
But Jake – who is also a singer performing under the name Sency Miller – insisted to Garraway: ‘No, I want to see this through to represent carers everywhere.’
Derek Draper’s carer, known only as Jake, arrives last Friday for the funeral service in London
Jake, pictured centre, was among the pall bearers during the funeral in London last Friday
Jake is seen behind Kate Garraway’s daughter Darcey at the church in Primrose Hill last Friday
Draper fell seriously ill during the early part of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 and spent 13 months in hospital before he was discharged.
He died on January 3 aged 56 after suffering long-lasting symptoms from coronavirus.
Jake played a key role in looking after Draper after he came out of hospital, and featured in Garraway’s ITV documentary Caring For Derek in February 2022.
But he has otherwise continually kept a low profile, and was pictured in a white shirt and black suit at the funeral last Friday.
On GMB today, Susanna Reid told Garraway: ‘I also wanted to ask you about Derek’s carers because one of his carers, his key carer, was also there, carrying the coffin, wasn’t he.
‘And what I think you’ve inspired amongst viewers is knowing about what the reality of caring for someone at home when they are out of hospital, how different that is from when someone is in hospital.’
She added: ‘There are many, many carers out there watching now who will think nobody knows the reality of this. You know, luckily through you, we do. But thousands of people are going through this every day, aren’t they?’
And Garraway replied: ‘Absolutely. Jake, again said, I want to carry Derek. And I said, Jake, you’ve carried this family and Derek for long enough, take that burden off your shoulders. And he said, No, I want to see this through to represent carers everywhere.
Kate Garraway spoke about Jake during an interview with ITV’s Good Morning Britain today
Kate posted a tribute to Jake on social media in February last year and shared a picture of him
‘Professional carers, we call them professional because they’re so skilled, but they’re doing it absolutely out of a incredible spirit of honour and love and goodness.
‘And I guess I represent the sort of non-professional scrambling carers, of which, as we know, every day at least 12 people take on caring for a loved one for the first time, every single day in this country.
‘And many of those, nearly half, give up work to do it because it’s not possible to be supported and doing it otherwise.’
She said that there was ‘so much that needs to change there’ and she expects that campaigning on such matters will ‘be my cause forever’.
Garraway continued: ‘We have so much brilliance in our medical profession and so much skill, but we need to have a different system of supporting that – caring, and also anything that really happens once you’re not in the life and death moment.
‘It needs to change and it hopefully will change. But I think for people watching, they will know two things really that are in a caring position – how unbelievably hard it is, but what an honour it is too and how much I wish I was caring today.
‘Because it’s an incredible thing to be that line of defence against the world and what happens to us all in life, to be able to be that person there for somebody – it’s the ultimate honour and privilege, isn’t it really.’
Jake cared for Derek Draper and took him out in a wheelchair. They are pictured in March 2023
In February last year, Garraway posted a tribute to Jake on social media and shared a picture of him with Draper.
She captioned her post: ‘Many of you will remember Jake who cared for Derek when he first came out of hospital in April 21 – from the documentary Caring For Derek, so you will know what a wonderful healthcare professional he is.
She continued: ‘But have just found out he’s also an amazing musician – under the name @sencymiller.x – He’s just released a song called Okuseku (check it out in his bio) – which no surprise is full of love and inspiration to keep going and never give up.
‘The world of carers never fails to surprise me with their depths of talent, thoughtfulness and motivation. Happy Friday, all!’
Jake responded to her post by writing: ‘Thank you so much and it’s a big privilege to be there for Derek.’
TV doctor Amir Khan also commented, writing: ‘He is a wonderful human’.
Jake then re-posted the picture of him last month following Draper’s death and said: ‘Rest in peace, Mr Draper.’
One of the comments below stated: ‘You were his favourite person apart from his family. You got him and them through so much. Be proud of yourself for making a difference to him and his family.’
Another wrote: ‘Thank you for looking after my much loved friend with such care.’
Jake, who was born and grew up in Ghana, now lives in London and has shared videos of himself in the recording studio and performing on pop-up stages.
Jake brought Derek Draper to Windsor Castle where Kate collected an MBE from Prince William in June last year
Draper had attended few public events in recent years but when he did it was usually with Jake – including a family trip to Windsor Castle where Kate collected an MBE in June last year.
Speaking on GMB after the event, Kate explained Prince William wanted to go over and speak to Draper in person.
‘He said he wants to go over but he’s not allowed to leave the rug, there’s a very fancy gold carpet that he stands on,’ she explained.
‘So we turned and saw and then obviously Derek was very tearful and then spoke about Jake and gave Jake a wave as well.’
Jake had also been pictured several times pushing Draper around in a wheelchair to give the ex-political advisor some fresh air.
Last November, Garraway Kate defended Draper’s use of carers on Loose Women , saying: ‘If Derek didn’t have someone caring for him he could die that day.
‘We need to stop treating carers as a luxury.’
The couple also spent ‘tens of thousands of pounds’ adapting the family home in London for Draper, which included the installation of ramps, a downstairs wet room and a makeshift downstairs bedroom.
Jake reposted the picture of him with Draper last week, saying: ‘Rest in peace, Mr Draper’
In his artist biography on Spotify, posting as Sency Miller, Jake writes: ‘Born and raised in Ghana. I first fell in love with music, when my grandmom will take me to church and I get to listen to the choir.
‘The harmonies, the tones, the melodies really touched me every time I head a song. At a very young age I found love for music. I always loved to sing, but never thought I would be a singer or a song writer.
‘I joined the choir but wasn’t very serious because was always busy with other things. At the age of 18 I really had a great connection with Drake and the group Fun. My love for music grew more and more.’
He said his performing ‘all started when a friend of mine was recording his album in his house’.
Jake said he ‘happened to be there’ and his friend asked him to perform on one of his songs which was being featured on his album.
He continued: ‘And after that song, I always tried to learn more and more about recording, writing and singing. And that was the starting point of what is to be the greatest turn of events in my life.
‘I am currently working on some projects and trying to put together an EP and if possible my first solo album. My name is Sency Miller and music saved my life.’