Davina McCall says return to work after brain tumour ‘feels amazing’

By Casey Cooper-Fiske, PA Entertainment Reporter

TV presenter Davina McCall has said returning to work after she was diagnosed with a brain tumour “feels amazing”.

The 57-year-old, who will co-host Comic Relief on BBC One on Friday, underwent surgery last year to remove a benign tumour, known as a colloid cyst, which was found after she was offered a health check-up as part of her menopause advocacy work.

Speaking about her return to TV on The One Show, the former Big Brother presenter said: “I am so happy to be back, it was like the final piece of the jigsaw.

 

“I was recovering at home in my bedroom, a lot, going for a couple of walks a day, but I was kind of stuck in my bedroom, and it became my safe space, and I kind of didn’t want to leave.

“And I got a bit nervous about going back to work, and I kept, kind of, in my head, thinking, ‘Well, I could just make a bit of an excuse’.

“And Michael (Douglas, her partner) said to me, ‘I know you, I know how much you love work and how much it means to you, I know you’re scared, but this is the final piece of the jigsaw, and I think it’s going to make a big difference when you go back’.

“And I was so angry with him, and then when I went back at the end of the day, I sat in the car and I was like, yes, it felt so good to see everybody and to be back to normal.

“It felt like something normal that I could do that I love.”

She said her appearance on the BBC One magazine show was a “big deal” as it was her first live programme since the operation.

McCall and Douglas attended the Brit Awards together last Saturday.

The presenter, who is known for hosting Big Brother between 2000 and 2010 during its Channel 4 run, has long advocated on women’s health issues, and presented documentaries on contraception and the menopause.

She has also co-presented BBC Comic Relief and Sport Relief, Channel 4’s Stand Up To Cancer, The Million Pound Drop, Long Lost Family and dating programme My Mum, Your Dad.

According to the NHS, non-cancerous brain tumours are more common in people over the age of 50, and symptoms include headaches, vision problems and drowsiness, and some can be “difficult to remove without damaging surrounding tissue”.