Davina McCall has become emotional during her first public appearance since undergoing brain surgery, speaking at a Brain Tumour Research Campaign (BTRC) event on Thursday.
The 57-year-old presenter took to the podium at All Saints Church in Fulham, sharing her personal story with the audience.
Earlier this month she had an operation to remove a benign brain tumour called a colloid cyst after a company offered her a health scan in return for giving a menopause talk.
She was introduced to the stage by BTRC chairman Kevin O’Neill, the neurosurgeon who performed her surgery.
After giving him a long hug, McCall stepped up, saying: “I’m not going to cry… I’m crying already. That didn’t go well”.
She went on: “I know lots of you here are on your own brain tumour journey and many of you have lost loved ones to a brain tumour.
“I lost my sister to a brain tumour in 2012, and my ex-father-in-law a year ago.”
McCall’s sister Caroline Baday died from lung and bone cancer in 2012 at the age of 50 and had been told by doctors she also had two tumours on her brain.
Sharing a selection of photos and short videos of the night, the charity thanked McCall, hailing her “a powerful voice for this cause”.
When she first shared news of her brain tumour, described it as “big”, 14mm wide, explaining: “It needs to come out, because if it grows it would be bad.”
She described the cyst as “very rare,” and the chances of having it “three in a million”.
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She said it would be removed via a craniotomy, describing the procedure: “They go through the top of my head here and through the two halves of my brain to the middle.
“They get the cyst, take it out, empty it, and Bob’s your uncle.”
McCall shared a short video from her bed once she returned home after surgery, saying her short-term memory was “a bit remiss,” and she was “writing everything down, to keep myself feeling safe”.
According to the NHS, non-cancerous brain tumours are slow-growing and unlikely to spread but are still serious and can be life-threatening.
McCall rose to fame presenting on MTV in the mid-1990s, and later on Channel 4’s Streetmate, before becoming a household name as the host of Big Brother from 2000 to 2010.
She’s gone on to present programmes across the networks, and currently presents ITV dating show My Mum, Your Dad.
Last year, McCall, who has three children with her second husband presenter Matthew Robertson, was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting.
She has lived with hairdresser Michael Douglas since 2022.
