Kate Garraway: Finding Derek is ITV’s most-watched documentary in YEARS with 4.5 million viewers

Kate Garraway: Finding Derek has become ITV’s most-watched factual programme in three years, after 4.5 million viewers tuned into the moving programme on Tuesday night.

The presenter, 53, fronted the show documenting her husband Derek’s year-long battle with COVID-19, with viewers praising her for sharing such a candid insight in his lengthy recovery.

On Thursday Kate said she’d been ‘absolutely overwhelmed’ by the positive reaction she’d received following the documentary as she continued to offer an insight into Derek’s recovery. 

Finding Derek won the 9pm slot with an average of 4.5 million viewers, making it ITV’s biggest factual overnight audience in the Tuesday 9pm slot in at least a decade.  

It was also the channel’s biggest factual overnight audience across all days in the 9pm slot since Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace back in June.

Finding Derek easily beat its closest competitor MasterChef, which earned just 3.3 million viewers on BBC One.

Kate filmed every step of Derek’s year-long battle with COVID-19 following his hospitalisation with the respiratory illness in March 2020 with the fly-on-the-wall programme. 

After watching the emotional hour-long documentary, many viewers and friends of the star took to social media to share their admiration for Kate and send their well wishes to Derek, also 53.

Viewers were left in ‘sad and happy’ tears over the harrowing documentary, as they praised Kate for maintaining such a positive outlook during her husband’s health battle. 

On Thursday Kate said she’d been ‘overwhelmed’ by viewers’ positive reaction to the programme as she returned to Good Morning Britain for the first time since Finding Derek had aired.

She said: ‘It’s been absolutely overwhelming in a really wonderful way.’

‘We spoke on Tuesday morning about how it was quite a difficult decision to think about filming it, but you hoped it would bring some comfort to some people or perhaps shine a light on a situation that… or for a group of people who might be suffering away in a way that hasn’t been focused on.

‘I’ve had so many comments from people. The reaction has been extraordinary. I’ve had so many messages from people talking not just about COVID, but about experiences in their own life, where some of the things we touched on have impacted.

‘Some people want to get in touch with me directly because it’s quite personal. I do have an email address actually if people want to get in touch directly, because I do understand they don’t want to put things on social media.’

She added: ‘It’s part of Club Garraway which I began at the start of the year. I have neglected it somewhat with everything that’s been going on. 

‘I’ve been slightly distracted, but I am going to get it going again and you can email me on [email protected] if you want to talk directly.

‘There’s lots of things I’d like to follow up on, because there are some really difficult challenges we’re all facing.’

Kate admitted Derek faces a ‘challenging week this week and next’ and he will keep fighting but didn’t give further details. 

She added: ‘Thank you so much for the reaction. The battle for Derek goes on. He’s got a challenging week this week and next. And that’s how we’re all feeling, we are feeling like the battle goes on.’