TV presenter Davina McCall broke down in tears this morning as she joined Jamie Theakston for his first radio show in five months.
Radio presenter Jamie, 54, had some good news to share on Friday, announcing his return to the airwaves after being given the all-clear from cancer. Jamie took a break from the show in September following his diagnosis with laryngeal cancer.
On Monday, back on the show with co-host Amanda Holden, Jamie was joined by former Big Brother host Davina as they both discussed their recent cancer treatments. Davina was diagnosed with a non-cancerous brain tumour called a colloid cyst last year and underwent surgery to remove the tumour in November.
“Jamie Theakston is in the studio, and we’ve brought our lovely friend Davina McCall who’s been on her very own journey,” Amanda began on the Heart FM Breakfast Show this morning. “Oh my goodness, I’m just going to say, Davina is the queen of hugs. She hugged Jamie, I timed it, it was forty-four seconds and the forty ninth of the next second, so nearly a minute long that cuddle! “
“I’m worried about talking in case I set myself off again,” Davina then admitted before breaking down in tears. “Oh, what are we like the two of us? ” Jamie mused as Amanda told listeners: “There’s been lots of tears this morning. “
Fighting back the tears, Davina then told Jamie: “I’m just so happy to see you, I can’t believe it! Can I be honest? When I hugged you that day here and I came round the back of you, how I like it, and put my arms around your throat- but like as a cuddle- And you went ‘ouch, ouch, ouch’ and I looked at you and though ‘oh my goodness I think I’ve really, really hurt him. ’
“You looked genuinely in agony, and I thought it wasn’t acting, do you know what I mean? And I thought, ‘but I’m sure I didn’t hug you that hard,’ but I felt I carried that for a very long time and you…” Beginning to cry again, Davina emotionally told Jamie: “You getting better means so much to me. “
“Well, listen, without you doing that, I would not have known that there was something wrong with my throat,” Jamie reassured Davina. “So in actual fact, it wasn’t that you did any damage, it was the opposite. “
“I am pleased that I did kind of hear that, but I still felt, I mean, obviously you’re a friend of mine,” a relived Davina admitted. “I’ve known you for such a long time, since I was, what, 40 years or something like mad? I really care about you anyway, but this was like, I felt involved in you and your recovery. So, I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you here. When Laurence [producer] was like, ‘oh, do you think you’ll come down and say hi to Jamie? ’ I was like, ‘yes, this is my third day back at work, ’ but I was like, ‘I am coming. ’”
Jamie then turned the attention on Davina, remarking how “amazing” she looks just weeks on from her surgery. “I mean, it’s been a rollercoaster, and it’s weirdly been quite nice being sort of simultaneously trying to get through something with you,” Davina shared with Jamie.
She then recalled how she told Jamie about her diagnosis when she was last on Heart FM, prior to the radio presenter receiving his own. Explaining to listeners just how her diagnosis came about, Davina recalled: “Okay, so this was mad. So, I did a documentary for the pill on Channel Four, and I went and filmed myself.
“We were talking about contraceptives and I went and filmed myself, I’m sorry everybody I know it’s breakfast, having a coil fitted at a place called OneWelbeck. And there was the lady that did it was a professor, Dame Lesley Regan, right? We call her FairyFingers, she’s amazing.
“And she was working on the women’s health floor, and she said, ‘why don’t we do a menopause talk? ’ And then this lovely girl, Rupal, she was like, ‘ oh my gosh, you’ve got to do menopause talk, that’s such a good idea. ’ So we did, we did a big menopause me and Dame Lesley, and Rupal said, ‘we’d like to gift you a health check. ’ And honestly, I was a bit like dragging my feet. You know, I mean, what was I like when I was working here? I run here every morning… “
Jamie interjected to tell Davina she is “the fittest person” he knows, to which Davina replied: “I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I’m like so clean. So, I just thought I don’t need a health check, why do it? So Rupal, bless her cotton socks just kept hassling me and saying like ‘book in book in book in. ’ And so I did, but I came away with a colloid cyst, which is incredibly rare, and it’s gone! “
Elsewhere during this morning show, heartfelt audio clips were played from Jamie’s colleagues, friends, and family reflecting on his cancer journey. His wife, Sophie Siegle, expressed her feelings, saying: “Hello, darling. It’s me, Sophie. When we found out you had cancer, it was wow, such a dark time. ” His son Sidney also chimed in with support: “Well done for getting through these past few months. “
Following the emotional tributes, Jamie’s co-host Amanda praised him, saying: “What an amazing man you are. You really fought very hard, Jamie, you’ve kept your sense of humour, which is the most important thing, I think. And isn’t it wonderful? It’s a terrible thing to go through, but it’s a wonderful thing to see how many people love you. “
Also on the show, Jamie prompted listeners with a powerful message about cancer awareness: “Ignoring cancer won’t beat it. ” He continued by highlighting the sly nature of the disease, “Cancer loves being ignored. It’s a coward that lives in the shadows, and I think that, if we can shine a light on that, then we can defeat the darkness. “
With deep personal insight, he advised, “If we just get ourselves checked, then stage one diagnosis, which is what I was very fortunate enough to be at, shouldn’t be a problem, but I do, I urge you to go and get checked. ” According to NHS advice, laryngeal cancer, which affects the voice box, typically presents symptoms such as pain when swallowing or a persistent sore throat.
Beloved broadcaster Jamie has been the face of several iconic programmes, including music show The O-Zone, kids’ favourite Live and Kicking alongside Zoe Ball, and the legendary Top Of The Pops on BBC. .
*Listen to Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden weekdays from 06:30 – 10:00 across the UK and on _Global Player
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Source: Mirror
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