Archive August 4, 2025

Davina McCall, a brave TV presenter, has revealed that after getting rid of a benign brain tumor, which completely altered her life, she is not afraid of dying.

Former Big Brother presenter Davina McCall has said she is “not afraid of dying” after she underwent an operation to remove a benign brain tumour.

The 57-year-old confirmed in April that a colloid cyst from her “final MRI” from November 2024, which she had removed as part of her menopause advocacy work, is “not coming back.”

McCall told Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast: “I am not afraid of dying anymore and it was the biggest journey of my life. From August 23 to November 24 was an amazing time where something changed.” It comes after Davina revealed that she ‘rarely’ spends time with her partner in a candid confession.

READ MORE: Davina McCall makes emotional relationship confession as she ‘looks forward’READ MORE: Davina McCall shares bombshell revelation about dying after devastating brain tumour

The podcast I created to support other people in their journey to live a life they love enough to experience without regrets.

Begin Again is about beginning again and living the life you want, and I’m not lying there going, “I wish I’d done that thing, wish I’d done that job, I wish I’d not stayed in this relationship,” to put it another way.

McCall, who is a judge on ITV singing show The Masked Singer, said her only concern about death is how her family would cope.

She continued, “I thought I needed to get my brain in the right place, and that was to a place where I could be calm, and that’s what I needed to do to do that.” If I didn’t make it, would my kids be okay? That was the only thing that really mattered to me.

“I was very concerned about my kids because I knew Michael (Douglas, her partner), he is a whole person, Michael is Michael,” she said.

I considered my children, their stage of life, and where they were at in their lives. You’re only happy when you’re the least happy, right?

After about six months of interrogating them about their lives, I realized how much I loved my life. My oldest daughter was persistently catching on. I was like, “No, no, no,” and she said, “You are not dying,” and I realized they would be great.

They would miss me, but I want to be with them. The outcome was the best gift, but I could go to sleep on the operating table knowing that they were all there to assist me. I don’t fear passing away.

McCall spent some time in intensive care before recovering at home with Douglas.

She spoke about the removal of the tumour while co-presenting this year’s Red Nose Day for Comic Relief and said it was “the hardest thing I’ve ever been through”.

According to the NHS, non-cancerous brain tumours are more common in people over the age of 50, and symptoms include headaches, vision problems and drowsiness, and some can be “difficult to remove without damaging surrounding tissue”.

McCall, the host of reality dating show My Mum, Your Dad, has long advocated for women’s health issues, and has presented a documentary called Sex, Myths And The Menopause and another on contraception called Davina McCall’s Pill Revolution.

She received a special award at the National Television Awards in 2024 for her broadcasting career and received an MBE in the King’s Birthday honors in 2023.

The entire interview can be listened to on Fearne Cotton’s podcast Happy Place.

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Mathew Horne, a former colleague of Gavin and Stacey’s Mathew Horne, recently announced the passing of a BBC show crew member. He has since been renamed Rob Picton, a musician.

Tributes have been paid to a former Gavin and Stacey crew member who died recently. Mathew Horne has been among those reflecting on the news, with him having choked up whilst discussing the loss an event this week.

At a Thursday performance on stage, Mathew, 46, who played Gavin Shipman, became emotional. The actor revealed that one of the actors who was responsible for the sitcom’s December finale had recently passed away. He simply called Rob when he spoke of his late coworker.

The crew member is understood to be Rob Picton, who’s been named elsewhere. Although having worked as a driver on the BBC show, he’s known as a DJ, producer and club promoter in Wales, and has been the subject of tributes.

Rob, also known as Joe Blow, passed away, but it’s not yet known. He told fans that he had been experiencing esophagitis, an inflammatory esophagus, and that he had previously been sent home from work due to chest pains, and that he had been posting about his health on social media last month.

He stated on July 17: “I will be back in touch with you, I’m not ignoring you. Has esophagitis caused chest pains after returning from work a few days ago, and has since been exaggerated.

Rob claimed that as a result, he would have to miss some events. As anyone who knows me knows, it’s sucks not being able to swallow food or drink without experiencing excruciating pain.

However, it appeared that Rob was back at work more than a week later. He thanked the fans for their support at a rave event he is said to have organized in Cardiff.

Mathew, the star of Gavin and Stacey, praised his late former coworker at a talk earlier this week in Taunton. On Thursday, the actor attended an In Conversation event at Taunton Brewhouse in Somerset.

As reported by the Sun, he apologised to the audience at one point, saying that he had been “distracted” after hearing about his colleague’s death. He said: “Earlier on … we had a driver on the finale called Rob and he was in his early 40s… and I found out via the WhatsApp group earlier that he has passed away and I got slightly distracted there.”

Mathew reiterated his dissatisfaction with the news and said he had become distracted by the loss. He continued, “He was a really lovely guy and he’s left a 4-year-old behind,” which is truly, really, really sad.

This week, Rob has received tributes, including those from BBC Introducing with Adam Walton. Adam Walton claimed to have had the “privilege” of playing Rob’s music on the BBC Radio show for more than 25 years, including in various roles.

He also paid tribute to those who knew Rob and offered his condolences. Adam once remarked, “Robert was a great and prolific emcee, and his loss is profoundly felt by his friends, collaborators, and obviously by his family and community.”