Ben Shephard has said Kate Garraway and her family have taken an “important step”, after her husband Derek Draper returned home from hospital.

Former political adviser Draper was admitted to hospital in March last year with coronavirus symptoms.

He has now been reunited with Garraway and their children Darcey and Billy at their family home.

Shephard, who is Garraway’s co-presenter on Good Morning Britain, told ITV’s This Morning: “This is the next page of a very big chapter and the journey is by no means over.

“It’s such an important step for her and for Bill and for Darcey and for Derek to be home.”

Shephard added: “As Kate keeps saying, he’s a very unique case. What he’s been through, how it’s affected him, what it’s done to his body, the organ damage that he’s faced, that actually the recovery is going to be pretty unique as well.

“He still needs 24-hour care.”

Garraway has a team of carers coming into the house and “she said it’s like having a ward at home now because he needs so much equipment”, Shephard said.

“But crucially, he’s at home, so they can hug him and they can talk to him,” he added.