Brave Davina McCall makes huge career decision as she recovers from brain surgery

The Masked Singer judge Davina McCall was taken to hospital for brain surgery after discovering a 14mm benign tumour a few months ago - as she asked fans to 'pray for me'

Brave Davina McCall will continue filming her weekly podcast despite being in recovery from brain surgery.

The My Mum, Your Dad TV host, 57, launched her brand-new show, titled Begin Again last month and was 'adamant' that finding the brain tumour would not halt the podcast's progress. Before undergoing the surgery on Friday, which spanned over six-hours, Davina pre-recorded an entire series of hour-long interviews to ensure the podcast would still air every week while she recovers.

Davina's beloved podcast first launched on October 9, and she has already enjoyed deep and meaningful conversations with celebrities including Fearne Cotton, Paloma Faith and Paul C Brunson. The premise of the podcast aims to “empower people to embrace midlife as their most transformative era yet”.

Of her brave and determined decision to continue filming the podcast while she recovers, an source has said: "Begin Again is Davina’s real passion project and there was absolutely no way she wanted its impact put on ice because of her surgery.

“There will be no break in the series run whilst she is out the spotlight. Davina made sure everything was pre-recorded and put in place so what she feels are important conversations can continue whilst she recovers," they told The Sun.

It was revealed last week that Davina had been rushed to hospital for brain surgery. The Masked Singer judge, 57, has had an operation to remove a 14mm benign brain tumour, which she discovered during a health scan a few months ago while giving a talk for a menopause company.

In a video update shared on Friday, Davina asked her fans to keep her in their prayers as her boyfriend Michael Douglas takes over her social media during her recovery period. Michael reassured fans that Davina is in "great shape" but will be "off grid" until she's fully recovered.

He wrote in the caption of the video: "Hey everyone. Michael here. @davinamccall will be "off grid" for a bit while she recovers from this brain operation. She is in great shape and in very good hands."

"I'll do the odd update from her account here for anyone interested. I'm sure she'll read all the comments when she's able to so feel free to send love. The support of people is amazingly powerful. Have a great day everyone. Michael xxx".

Alongside her husband's caption, an emotional Davina addressed fans in a video, saying: "I was offered a health scan which I thought I was going to ace but it turned out I had benign brain tumour which is very rare, 'three in a million'."

Speaking in the pre recorded clip, she said: “I’m posting this. It will be Friday morning, and I’m doing it because a few months ago, I did a menopause talk for a company, and they offered me a health scan in return, which I thought I was going to ace, but it turned out I had a benign brain tumour called a colloid cyst, which is very rare, three in a million.

“And so I slightly put my head in the sand for a while, and then I saw quite a few neuro surgeons. I got lots of opinions, and I realised that I have to get it taken out.” Davina described it as a “big” tumour, 14 mm wide, adding: “It needs to come out, because if it grows, it would be bad.”

The star told how she will undergo a craniotomy, a surgical procedure to temporarily remove part of the skull. "Say a prayer for me. I'm in good spirits," she added. “I’m going to be in hospital for about nine days, and then I’m going to be going home, but I’m going to be off my phone for a while. But I don’t want you to worry about me. I’m doing that enough as it is. I am in a good space, and I have all the faith in the world in my surgeon and his team, and I am handing the reins over to him. He knows what he’s doing," she signed off.

According to the NHS, non-cancerous brain tumours are more common in people over the age of 50, and symptoms include headaches, blackouts, behavioural changes and loss of consciousness.

The NHS describes a benign brain tumour as: "A benign (non-cancerous) brain tumour is a mass of cells that grows relatively slowly in the brain. Non-cancerous brain tumours tend to stay in one place and do not spread. It will not usually come back if all of the tumour can be safely removed during surgery. If the tumour cannot be completely removed, there's a risk it could grow back. In this case it'll be closely monitored using scans or treated with radiotherapy."

The former Big Brother host, who currently presents ITV dating show My Mum, Your Dad, has long advocated on women’s health issues, and presented documentaries on contraception and the menopause.

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