TV presenter Davina McCall has revealed she was initially very hesitant to take a routine health check that later uncovered a rare brain tumour which completely changed her life
Davina McCall has revealed she was initially reluctant to take the health check that ultimately uncovered a rare brain tumour.
The 57-year-old TV presenter told fans last November that doctors had found a ‘very rare’ colloid cyst, a condition affecting just three in a million people. She later underwent surgery after medics warned the cyst could pose serious risks if it grew.
Speaking on BBC Woman’s Hour on Friday, Davina explained her hesitation about confronting her health issues. She explained: “I don’t need a health check, I’m Davina. I’m healthy, I’m fitness lady, that’s what I’m known for. I felt fantastic, I felt the best I’ve felt in year.”
The health check, which was a gift following a menopause talk she gave, included a Dexter scan and a mole map. After a lot of hesitation, Davina finally decided to bite the bullet and finally get her health check after using sunbeds for years.
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“I thought, ‘oh, well that would be quite useful,’” she recalled. “I was sunbed queen in the 80s… I’m ashamed of that. So I had the health check, and what had flagged up is I heard the word benign.”
Davina went on to stress the dangers of so-called “benign” brain tumours as she shared a stern warning with listeners.
“I just want to say to anybody listening, that knows anyone with a benign brain tumour, benign does not mean fine. That’s a really important thing to say because benign cysts can be devastating. They can be inoperable, they can kill you. Just because it’s not cancerous doesn’t mean it’s not deadly,” Davina shared.
Earlier this year, in April, The Masked Singer star confirmed a ‘final MRI’ scan showed the colloid cyst was “not coming back” following surgery in November 2024.
Amid her life-changing health battle, Davina has been celebrating love after being supported every step of the way by her boyfriend Michael Douglas, 49.
Davina previously gushed that she would not have been able to get through her brain tumour diagnosis with Michael’s support and love. After an incredibly stressful year for both Davina and Michael, it looks like they are more excited than ever for their future after it was reported that they have secretly become are engaged.
The joyful news comes just days after Michael told The Mirror about their upcoming wedding plans at National Television Awards.
“There could be wedding bells on the way, who knows, I’m not going anywhere else if that’s why you mean. But we’re in no rush for any of that, we just enjoy each other’s company,” he shared.
Davina and Michael first met decades ago when he worked as her hair stylist on Big Brother, reconnecting in 2019. They moved in together in 2023, with Michael supporting her through her recent surgery.
Friends say he’s “her absolute rock” and that the couple, with “insane” chemistry, resemble “lovesick teenagers.”
Reflecting on her outlook after her health scare, a friend told The Sun: “Basically Davina thought ‘f*** it, life is short,’ and decided it was time to, as the kids say, lock in the love of her life.”
Davina was previously married twice: to shop manager Andrew Leggett in 1997 for a brief period, and later to TV presenter Matthew Robertson, with whom she has three children – Holly, 23, Tilly, 21, and Chester, 18.
Source: Mirror
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