Elton John says ‘heart goes out to Kate Garraway’ after his gesture left Derek ‘in tears'
Elton John has sent his heartfelt condolences to Kate Garraway after the singer's emotional gesture left Derek Draper "weeping with joy" before his devastating death.
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Elton John said his "heart goes out" to Good Morning Britain presenter Kate Garraway following the tragic death of her husband, Derek Draper. The former political lobbyist, 56, died after suffering long-lasting symptoms from Covid.
Sharing a photograph of Derek to his Instagram Story, the Tiny Dancer singer, 76, penned: "My heart goes out to Kate, Darcey, William and the whole family following the passing of Derek.
"David, the boys and I are thinking of you and sending all our love."
Back in April, Kate, Derek and their children Darcey, 17, and Billy, 14, went to watch Elton during his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.
The legendary hitmaker took a moment out of his set to praise the couple and dedicated his song, Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me, to them.
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He told the crowd: "I can't forget, the two people who I am so thrilled are here because they've both been through hell over the last two or three years are Kate Garraway and Derek and the kids.
"To say they've been through a lot recently is an understatement on a huge proportion. They are inspiring, they've never given up and I'm so thrilled they're here, I can't believe they're here.
"I want to dedicate this song to the people I mentioned before but especially to you guys," he added before playing the famous hit on his grand piano.
Kate shared the incredible moment with her Smooth Radio listeners, explaining that it took "weeks of planning" to get Derek to the concert.
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She said: "Right up to the last minute, I wasn't sure if it would be possible to get Derek there. It took weeks of planning and just days before, it looked like he would be too sick to attend, even on the journey there, he seemed so weak.
"But as soon as we got into the stadium and Elton went on stage, he started weeping tears of joy, and squeezed my hand so tightly."
On Good Morning Britain, the presenter revealed that they also got to meet Elton, and they were all "in tears".
Kate told her co-hosts: "Derek was crying, Darcey was crying. It was amazing and he's been so kind since, phenomenal.
"And, we actually got to meet, we didn't think we'd be able to connect them up but he was brilliant, he rushed off stage just as we were trying to get Derek out and Derek and Elton met, both of them were in tears, we all were."
On Friday morning, Kate announced that Derek had tragically lost his battle after returning to hospital in December following a "sudden" heart attack.
She wrote in a statement: "I'm sad to have to tell you all that my darling husband Derek has passed away. As some of you may know he has been critically ill following a cardiac arrest in early December which, because of the damage inflicted by Covid in March 2020, led to further complications.
"Derek was 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."
The 56-year-old also thanked the medical teams who "fought so hard to save him" and to "make his final moments as comfortable and dignified as possible".
Signing off the heartbreaking post, Kate said: "Rest gently and peacefully now Derek, my love, I was so lucky to have you in my life."