Davina McCall claims brain tumour was ‘best thing to ever happen to me’

Davina McCall has reflected on the positive impact her brain tumour has had on her life (Picture: Getty)

Davina McCall has opened up about entering a ‘mind-blowing’ period of her life after having brain surgery.

The 57-year-old TV presenter shared that she had been diagnosed with a ‘very rare’ brain tumour known as a colloid cyst in November 2024 and opted to undergo surgery due to the life-changing risks.

Last month, The Masked Singer star confirmed she had been given the all-clear after her final MRI scan came back completely blank.

The TV personality, who revealed the tumour was discovered during a random health check-up in August 2023, has now opened up about how the surgery has affected her including short-term memory loss.

‘My short-term memory after the operation was really poor. I was like Dory [the forgetful fish] from Finding Nemo. I literally couldn’t remember anything,’ she shared in a new interview with Women’s Health UK.

Before her surgery, she named her tumour Jeffrey and threw a ‘F**k Jeffrey’ party with her close friends, she revealed.

The star named her tumour Jeffrey before surgery (Picture: Mark Cant / Women’s Health UK) She explained that she thought this could be the ‘greatest thing to ever happen to me’ (Picture: Mark Cant / Women’s Health UK)

Now, six months later and with her all-clear, she had reflected on how different her life is.

She explained: ‘When I got this brain tumour I said to Michael ‘if I make it, this will be the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me.’ Because of the learnings, yes – and because of the places I’ve had to go to deal with it.’

And part of this new lease has included re-learning the piano and even re-taking Maths A-Level that she ‘flunked’ – essentially during the start back into life again ‘eveything felt like a massive win’.

Earlier this year, Davina had the all-clear from doctors (Picture: DavinaMcCall)

Then continued: ‘I’m sort of going through a slightly mind-blowing phase of my life where I’m just asking questions about everything. I keep thinking: I’ve survived this thing, but I don’t know how that happened or why it happened.’

Colloid cysts are benign, meaning they are non-cancerous, small fluid-filled sacs located in or around the lateral and third ventricle of the brain, according to the London Neurosurgery Partnership.

The former Big Brother presenter has previously spoken about how grateful she has been for the support of her partner, Michael Douglas who she has been dating since 2019.

‘This whole experience, weirdy, of weighing up all the risks and all the positive things about having this tumour removed, made me really think deeply about what life is all about and what really, really matters when things get tough.

She underwent the surgery in November and has shared her gratitude at the support she has recevied (Picture: Davina McCall/Instagram)

‘I needed the brilliance and the skill of lots of medical experts to make me okay. And oh my goodness I’ve needed the love and support…’ she said through tears.

In March, she set the record straight over rumours that she was planning to marry her celebrity hairdresser boyfriend, 49, following her surgery.

‘We’re not getting married by the way, anyone who is thinking about this, we are not getting married but, if you are getting married, an amazing thing to have on top of your cake.’

The full interview is available in the June issue of Women’s Health UK, on sale now.

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