Davina McCall's wild health journey after taking cocaine aged 14 and becoming a drug addict

Davina McCall broke down in tears in her first podcast appearance after undergoing an operation to remove a benign brain tumour in an emotional interview with Steven Bartlett

Davina McCall has made an emotional return to the world of podcasting after having surgery to remove a benign brain tumour.

Back in November, the 57-year-old revealed that she’d been diagnosed with a rare type of benign tumour called a colloid cyst and would be having an operation to have it removed. As she made her diagnosis public, the TV personality revealed how the tumour had been discovered by chance after she underwent a health scan.

But this isn’t the first time that Davina has opened up about her health. Over the years, she hasn’t been afraid of discussing health matters and has used her platform to raise awareness of important topics including menopause and women’s health. Let’s take a closer look…

Brain tumour discovery

Last year Davina revealed that doctors had discovered a benign brain tumour by chance after she underwent a health scan. “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,” she said in a video shared on social media.

“But it turned out I had a benign brain tumour called a colloid cyst, which is very rare - three in a million.”

Following the discovery, Davina had an operation to remove the tumour and returned home where she was looked after by her doting partner Michael and her stepmum Gaby. Three months after the op, Davina has teased a podcast interview with Steven Bartlett in which she addresses her health journey.

“I felt like this thing had taken control of me,” she says in a snippet of the interview. “They said, ‘You’ve got a benign cyst in your brain…’.”

Meanwhile, another clip from the highly-anticipated release shows her breaking down in tears. “I was like, 'I'm still here'. I began again,” she adds.

Getting clean

The My Mum, Your Dad presenter is known for her love of all things health and fitness. However, Davina has recalled how her teens and early twenties involved drug use.

During another interview with Steven on his The Diary of a CEO podcast in 2023, Davina revealed how she first did cocaine at the age of 14 with her sister. One year later, at the age of 15, she did cocaine again, this time with her mother, Florence.

Reflecting on her drug use, she told the Mirror: “I was a mess. You name it, I took it. Cocaine, ecstasy and heroin.” For Davina, a turning point came when she was 24 and her friend Sarah had a difficult conversation with her.

“My best friend said she was going to take me to Santana… she got me into her car. And I got in the car and she shut the doors and she said, 'I'm actually not going to take you to Santana. I need to tell you some things'. She said, 'I know that you've been lying to me',” she explained to Steven.

“I had just come off the back of a 24 hour cocaine bender which is what made me realise heroin wasn't my problem, all drugs were my problem.”

She added: “My friend said, ‘We all know you've been lying to us, all your friends, and you are the topic of conversation at every dinner party I go to.’ The shame starts piling on. I started to feel a little bit, ‘well f*** you’ to her. This is virtually my only friend I've got left'.”

During an appearance on This Morning in 2016, Davina admitted that she believed nobody suspected a thing about her drug use before Sarah issued the ultimatum. “I always wore make-up, I had a job, I didn't steal. I wasn't like your average street junkie,” she said.

“Everyone is different, but for me, it was when my friend said, 'Everyone is talking about you and what a mess you are,' that changed things. I thought I was fully functioning. But I wasn't. My cover was blown.”

At the age of 25, Davina turned things around with the help of her boyfriend Eric Clapton. The Layla singer supported Davina as she attended meetings at Narcotics Anonymous.

Menopause awareness

Davina has been praised by fans for opening up about her experience of the menopause and for her help to remove the stigma that surrounds it. In 2022, the mum-of-three fronted the documentary Davina McCall: Sex, Mind and the Menopause which explored the issues women face when it comes to the menopause as well as perimenopause.

Prior to that, her first documentary on the topic, Sex, Myths and the Menopause was viewed by more than 2 million people and resulted in 22,000 GPs and nurses volunteering to complete a six-hour menopause course.

Speaking about her own experience, Davina told the Mirror in 2022: “The moment I think my perimenopausal symptoms started I can actually pinpoint. I was 44 and I remember it because it was so weird. The best way I can describe it is that I just lost something of myself. I changed.

“I couldn’t quite put my finger on how I’d changed, but I’d definitely changed. I didn’t feel myself. I remember feeling more self-conscious and awkward than I normally would. And I’d wake up in the middle of the night and the sheets would be soaking. I felt my entire body had turned into a prune.”

Fitness fan

After becoming a mum, Davina set out to look and feel her best. In 2004, she released her first workout DVD and released another the following year. In 2019 she also created her own online fitness and lifestyle programme ‘Own Your Goals’.

“On a weekday, I start the day in some sort of Lycra, if I’m not working,” she told the Mirror. “I just put on a workout outfit because it means that I’m always ready. If I start my day in civvies I am not going to work out, it’s never going to happen.

“If I’m in my workout gear and it gets to 3pm, I think, come on, back on! My Lycra is like my work clothes so I spend money on Lycra like other people would spend money on a suit for work.”

*Frank offers confidential advice about drugs and addiction (email frank@talktofrank.com, message 82111 or call 0300 123 6600) or the NHS has information about getting help.