Davina McCall has described the past 18 months as the 'toughest time of my life', after undergoing brain surgery and breast cancer treatment, but says it ended with a 'really beautiful' wedding to partner Michael Douglas.
The TV presenter, 58, admitted she used to be too hard on herself, worrying about being a good mother, balancing her workload, going through the menopause and facing illnesses. Now, after breast cancer and brain surgery, she is giving herself a break and enjoying married life.
'I have recently given myself a big cuddle about getting through the last year and a half,' she said. 'It was the hardest year and a half of my whole life, the end of 2024 and the whole of 2025 was impossibly difficult, but it ended with a wedding, and that was really beautiful.'
Health battles: brain surgery and breast cancer
In late 2024, Davina underwent surgery to remove a colloid cyst that could have put her in a coma if left untouched. The procedure involved removing part of her skull to take out the tumour. Then, in October 2025, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and in April she told fans she had received the 'all clear' following surgery.
Throughout these ordeals, her partner Michael Douglas, a hair stylist, cared for her. She praised him for breaking their usual rules to help her look her best after hospital.
'Pet peeve about him? I literally haven't got one,' she said of the man she married in December in front of 10 family and friends. 'I fancy him so much. He is like the perfect man. He is everything. He is sensitive and strong. Yeah, he's amazing. And he's great at hair.'
Michael's tender care after surgery
Davina revealed that after brain surgery, Michael would blow-dry her hair, something she never normally asks him to do. 'I never ever ever ask him to do my hair, ever. It's his day job, and he does not want to come home from work and do my hair. I would never ask him to do that ever. But, after I had brain surgery, he did my hair quite often, because it was mental. I had scar hair, all these bits of hair here are from the scar, and so he used to blow dry them for me. He would go “do you want me to blow dry your hair”. And I would say “oh yes please”. It is such a treat, I can never do it as well as he can. He is perfect.'
Michael also provided emotional support when she returned to work. Davina recalled her first job after brain surgery was filming Long Lost Family. 'I didn't want to go back to work. I was terrified because I just thought I can't do it, I can't remember things,' she said. She asked the production team for notes four days early instead of the usual night before, and created mind maps to prepare.
Return to work and finding purpose
'Michael kept saying to me “you're gonna enjoy going back to work”. And I'd be looking at him going “yeah”, there was something in me that knew he was right, but I was also really angry with him, because I was like, “You don't understand, I'm terrified, you don't know what it feels like up here, I can't remember anything”.'
After the first day of filming, Davina remembered everything because the four days of learning had bedded it into long-term memory. 'I called him from the car, and I was like “I've been really annoyed with you, but thank you so much. It was the best day of my life. I'm back. I feel like I'm worth something, like I feel purpose again”. You know it was that I'm not just a patient, I am now part of society again. I'm back.'
Last year on her Begin Again podcast, Davina revealed she had written 'letters of wishes' to her children Holly, Tilly and Chester, whom she shares with ex-husband Matthew Robinson, in case she died during brain surgery. The letters and will were not needed, but the experience gave her a new perspective on life.
Embracing life and facing death
Speaking at the Leadenhall Live festival, Davina said she wants to talk more about living a life you love so you can die happy. 'I feel like dying is the last big taboo,' she said. She recalled going into the operating theatre for brain surgery: 'I said “you guys are all brilliant at your jobs. Thank you, all of you for being here. I just want to let you know, I'm going to lie down here, and I'm going to let go of the outcome, and you do your best”. And then the anesthetist put in the anesthetic, and as I was falling asleep, and I just said “love, love, love” all the way, and I was okay with not making it, but I'd got my life in order.'
She criticised society's obsession with longevity and strict health rules, urging people to actually live. 'On your deathbed, you are gonna go, I wish I'd gone clubbing, I wish I'd eaten a freaking banoffee pie, I wish I'd snogged the girl or a boy. I wish I'd gone naked swimming at midnight in Parma. Don't forget this while you're trying to live long, to actually live and enjoy your life, that is like how to die happy.'
Turning 60 in a couple of years no longer daunts her after what she has been through. This week, Davina is supporting her best friend Sarah Hiscox as she publishes a new book about her journey through addiction and finding love again, which mirrors Davina's own story.
'We've been through everything together. My addiction, her addiction, divorce, falling in love again, everything,' Davina said. 'I am reaching an age where I feel like I can sort of be who I want to be, and I'm not frightened of other people's judgment anymore, and I spent so long caring what people thought of me. I've always said this, I'm half nun, half wild child! I was so worried about everything, and it just doesn't matter.'
