Davina McCall spoke with Joe Wicks, a fitness trainer, about the value of exercise and how her brain tumor-related condition “really severely affected” her short-term memory.
Davina McCall has revealed that the “only” way she knew that she’d performed a certain activity after her brain tumour was when she felt physical pain. In a recent instalment of her Begin Again podcast (January 1), Davina spoke to Joe Wicks about the importance of exercise to our personal well-being, with the fitness expert declaring that it’s an “essential part of happiness”.
In a devastating blow in 2024, the Big Brother legend, having undergone a health check, was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour (colloid cyst) and later underwent craniotomy surgery.
In April 2025, however, Davina said, after undergoing MRI scans, the tumour was “not coming back”, but Davina’s health battles weren’t over, as she also revealed in November that she’d had surgery for breast cancer.
Davina discussed how her brain tumor experience “really severely affected” her short-term memory and how it had impacted her attempts to return to exercise during her conversation with Joe.
According to Davina, “It is a crucial component of happiness.” That is exactly how I feel, and I adore that. After having my brain tumor removed, I started exercising, but it had a profoundly negative impact on my short-term memory (sic), so the only way I knew I should have been was because I had delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
So when I woke up the next morning, I would be like, “Oh, God, wow,” and I would think, “Oh, I must have worked out yesterday,” but I had no memory of it.
Joe suggested that Davina must like the way that DOMS felt, to which she replied: “I love it!” He said that he “sorta” likes it, too, but “not every day”, as Davina discussed how “humbling” it was to “start from scratch”.
Davina revealed that she had to stop exercising for three to four months as a result of the tumour and again due to her breast cancer, adding that it had been a “really good lesson” on how difficult it is for others to “start again”.
When Joe asked her how she handled it in more detail about her memory, Davina explained that she wasn’t aware of how difficult it was because she “didn’t remember that she” wasn’t doing it.
Despite this, Davina claimed that nature “a lot” helped her when she went for walks.
She “had no need to remember that nature was just beautiful and there,” and the combination of these two improved her mental health.
Speaking previously about her breast cancer in a video on Instagram, the TV icon said: “I just wanted to tell you that I have had breast cancer. I found a lump a few weeks ago, and it came and went.”
I had a biopsy, the panelist for Masked Singer continued. I was given a lumpectomy nearly three weeks ago when I learned it was indeed breast cancer… I received it very, very early, which is extremely fortunate, but I am so happy to have it removed and to know that it hasn’t spread because it was very, very small.
On Sunday (January 4), The Masked Singer will be available on ITV at 6:30 PM.
Source: Mirror
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