KATE Garraway today clashed with an MP over her Covid-stricken husband Derek Draper's treatment in a private hospital.
Derek, 55, who contracted Covid in 2020 and was left in a critical condition, has been fighting to overcome health problems ever since.
On Thursday's Good Morning Britain, Kate, 55, interviewed Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry.
The pair were debating Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer's bold plan to tackle NHS waiting lists by using private sector capacity against a backdrop of striking nurses and overflowing hospitals.
The Labour MP denied this was the start of privatising the NHS saying: "It's not. If you're waiting six months to get your hip replaced and there aren't enough beds in a National Health Service hospital and there are some beds in a private hospital, we're saying the NHS will pay for surplus capacity in the private hospitals to get the waiting list down. It's just completely pragmatic politics."
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Mum-of-two Kate became emotional as she explained how Derek had initially been treated in a private hospital - under the care of the NHS - during the pandemic.
She said: "I know from personal experience because when Derek was first sick and he had to be moved to hospital, there were no spaces on any wards for him to go, for the treatment he needed. And so at that time, effectively everything was nationalised.
"But after a while, the private hospitals said that they couldn't make it pay and therefore it came to an end, it reverted back. And so that seemed like a sensible way to go.
“What was the argument against that?”
When Ms Thornberry failed to reply Kate continued: "I'd have said the argument against that was people with private insurance wouldn't be able to jump queues."
The Labour frontbencher replied: "My priority is the National Health Service," before Kate butted in saying: "I know but that would be the solution.
"If you're going to pay for some people who need to go to private hospitals, what about doing it for everybody?"
Meanwhile, Derek's struggle to overcome health problems related to Covid continues.
He is receiving specialist care and went back into hospital in July last year with Kate and children Darcey and Billy by his side.
He was diagnosed with Sepsis and a kidney infection.
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Derek became the nation’s longest suffering patient after spending 13 months in hospital.
Kate revealed she secretly flew Derek to North America for a ground-breaking medical trial in November.
The GMB star pursued the trip when a world renowned US doctor contacted her after seeing Derek’s plight on TV.
