Davina McCall broke down in tears during an emotional podcast conversation with her best friend of almost 40 years, Sarah Hiscox, who recalled the moment she confronted the TV presenter about her drug use and told her she feared losing her.
Appearing on the Begin Again podcast in July, Hiscox described realising that McCall's drug use had become increasingly dangerous. "So you got bad, and I could tell that it wasn't just like a couple of E. You were taking heroin, you know, and that to me, well, to most people with any sense, is incredibly dangerous," she said.
A Frightening Realisation
Hiscox said she felt "frightened" as she watched her friend's behaviour change. "I was going to lose you, and it wasn't just being the centre of attention at a party or... It was something much darker that had taken you over, and I was aware of people talking about you behind your back."
She continued: "And I was aware that you were kind of sliding out of view. And you were losing yourself. One of the huge attractions of you to me was that you always seemed so self-assured. You knew who you were. You knew what you wanted. But then that suddenly seemed to go."
The Turning Point
Hiscox recalled a specific moment when she picked McCall up in her Mini Metro outside her father's flat to attend a Santana concert at the Hammersmith Palais. "I remember turning to you and saying, 'Listen, I'm really worried about you,'" she said.
McCall remembered crumbling quickly in the car, feeling angry before getting out and starting to cry. "I was so full of shame," the TV star said. "You telling me that people were talking about me, it's hard. That was the thing that finished me off because I thought, 'Oh my god, I am the topic of conversation, and I'm not there.'"
Recovery and Reflection
Hiscox described the wall that heroin had placed between them. "You were my person; a mother, father, brother, sister to me. So I needed you back; it was purely selfish, actually, but I remember that very well, and that was a huge turning point for you."
McCall confirmed the impact of the conversation: "Well, it was everything. I didn't use again. I went to a meeting the next day, and that was it. I didn't drink again. And I've never had a drink again."
