Davina McCall broke down in tears as she revealed that it was a song by a Canadian singer she heard which convinced her to make the tough decision to have brain surgery.
At the time Davina, 57, had not revealed publicly that she had a colloid cyst and faced an agonising choice – have risky complex surgery or live with the condition which posed a risk of sudden death if it grew.
She had sought multiple opinions and was still trying to decide what to do, when she went for a run and heard ‘You Can Do It’ by Caribou.
Davina said she was ‘poleaxed’ and began crying, and when the lyrics changed from ‘You can do it’, to ‘Do it’ mid-song, she decided ‘I’m going to do it’.
She then continually listened to the song through 2024, including just before going into the operating theatre in November that year.
‘Caribou is an amazing Canadian called Dan Snaith. I came across ‘You Can Do It’ because I had other songs by Caribou in my playlist’, she said.
Davina McCall broke down in tears as she revealed that it was a song by a Canadian singer she heard which convinced her to make the tough decision to have brain surgery
At the time Davina had not revealed publicly that she had a colloid cyst and faced an agonising choice – have risky complex surgery or live with the condition which posed a risk of sudden death if it grew
‘And I at that point knew that I had a brain tumour and I was trying to figure out what to do about it.
‘That’s the kind of decision that nobody else can make for you. You have to man up and woman up, make this decision for yourself – I had to go really deep.
‘And this song came on and I was out on a run. It poleaxed me.’
Davina continued: ‘And what’s so funny about it is it’s just words being repeated again and again and again, and that is ‘you can do it, you can do it, you can do it, you can do it’.
‘I really felt like he was talking to me, and I was doing my euphoric running.
‘I started running with my hands out to my side.
‘I’m in the country, no-one’s there, no-one can see me, just running crying, going ‘I can do this – I can make the decision, I just have to do it. What do I need to do it? I need to reset’.
‘Then I thought ‘Oh my God, this is the best song I’ve ever heard’ and then half way through it goes ‘Do it….Do it’. I was like ‘I’m going to do it’.
She had sought multiple opinions and was still trying to decide what to do, when she went for a run and heard ‘You Can Do It’ by Caribou
‘And then I just listened to it every single day for the whole of 2024.
‘It became a crutch. It was something that I needed to hear to make myself believe that I was going to make it.’
Caribou, who performs under the name Caribou, contacted her after she praised his music – although she still hadn’t made public or mentioned to him her dreadful health dilemma.
Speaking on the BBC’s Inheritance Tracks, where she said she wanted to bestow the song to future generations, Davina welled up with tears as she continued: ‘Eventually Dan Snaith contacted me on Instagram and said ‘just want to say thanks’.
‘And I messaged him and said ‘Please don’t tell anybody, but I have a brain tumour, and I have decided thanks to you, you helped me know that I can do it, I’ve decided to have it removed’.
‘And he said ‘We’d love you to come to a concert after your op’.
‘That told me two things. Firstly, he’s a good man, and secondly, he thought I was going to make it.
‘So I was like ‘Brilliant, we’ll come’.
‘And so I listened to that song before I had my operation in the hospital, and laughed to myself ‘I’m going to do this’.
Davina said she was ‘poleaxed’ and began crying, and when the lyrics changed from ‘You can do it’, to ‘Do it’ mid-song, she decided ‘I’m going to do it’
‘It was like encouraging, it was nudging, powerful, like a freight train. Bang. And I did it.’
It comes after Davina proved age really is just a number while putting Instagram followers through their paces on Wednesday afternoon.
The newly engaged TV presenter, 57, was back in her crop top and shorts for another workout video, this time to promote a new five minute fitness challenge.
But social media followers were more impressed with her chiselled abs than her gruelling series of exercise routines as she kicked things off with some step-ups.
Opting for a pink vest and high-waisted gym shorts, Davina revealed a remarkably toned physique while shooting the video tutorial from her family home.
Commenting on her her appearance, one impressed follower wrote: ‘Love Davina! Fit body goals she is amazing.’ [sic]
A second added: ‘You look incredible!!!’
Her new ‘no pressure’ fitness challenge has been devised with Good Housekeeping magazine to ‘lift mood and boost health’ by breaking a series of exercise routines into quick and easy sets.
