When doctors told Davina McCall her brain tumour was a “ticking time bomb,” the 57-year-old TV star believed death might be imminent as she braced herself for emergency surgery.
Convinced she might not survive the operating table, the Masked Singer presenter created an end-of-life checklist — a process she now describes as “the best gift” she could have given herself.
In an emotional appearance at Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place Festival in London, Davina admitted she initially spiraled into denial after learning of her benign tumour, discovered by chance. She put off treatment for four months — until a stern warning from her fourth neurosurgeon forced her to confront reality.
“It’s a big tumour. It can’t grow anymore, or you’ll get water on the brain. If you’re on a plane, there would have to be an emergency landing,” the surgeon told her. “You will die if you don’t act quickly.”
Preparing for the Worst
Breaking down in tears on stage, Davina explained: “I needed to get my brain in the right place where I could be calm before the operation. I had to make sure my kids would be OK if I did not make it. That’s all I really cared about.”
The mother of three — who shares Holly, 23, Tilly, 21, and Chester, 18 with ex-husband Matthew Robertson — admitted she was deeply worried about her children’s future.
“You are only as happy as your unhappiest child. I knew my partner, Michael, would be fine — he’s a whole person. But I was really worried about my kids. I thought about where each of them were in their lives, and realised they’d be OK. They’d miss me, but they’d be fine.”
Davina has been with celebrity hairdresser Michael Douglas since 2017, calling him her “soulmate” during her cancer journey.
Facing Brain Surgery
Davina recalled: “I felt I could go to sleep on the operating table and know my children were here to help each other. I could let go of the outcome — and that was the best gift.”
The star described how, following surgery, her mind felt transformed. “After the operation, I became aware of a noise in my head — they were thoughts. I didn’t have that before. Now I wake up and wonder why the grass is green or think of the most random things.”
She credits her American doctor for finally convincing her to undergo the operation. “I needed someone to tell me what to do. When I got the phone call, although it was hard to hear, I needed it.”
“The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me”
In what some might see as a controversial statement, Davina calls her surgery the most profound experience of her life.
“I am not afraid of dying anymore. It was the biggest journey of my life. I wouldn’t change a thing. Without sounding arrogant, I now love myself. I’ve been through terrible struggles, but that’s where the learning comes from. If something hard happens now, I know it’s a good thing.”
She added: “I said to Michael, ‘If I make it through this brain surgery, it’s going to be the best thing that’s ever happened to me.’ The learning I’ve done in the past two years has been immense. It’s been enriching. At first it felt like a calamity — now I see it as a gift.”
A New Mission: Helping Others Begin Again
With her Begin Again podcast, Davina now hopes to inspire others to embrace midlife as their most transformative chapter. Featuring well-known guests and experts, the show explores growth, resilience, and self-discovery.
“Midlife is not the beginning of the end,” she explained. “It’s the perfect opportunity to begin again. I want everyone to be able to say, ‘I have lived the life I wanted’ — not think, ‘I wish I had not done that job or stayed in that relationship.’”
As for her own happiness, Davina says it now lies in simple pleasures: “My happy place is with the people I love — Michael, our kids, our families. Maybe in a karaoke bar, or in Ibiza, with music and dancing. That, for me, is my drug of choice.”
📌 Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk/
