Davina McCall has revealed her brain tumour surgery completely changed her relationship with her stepmother Gabby, admitting she’s ‘fallen in love with her in a major way for the first time.’
The presenter, 57, underwent surgery last year after a doctors discovered a colloid cyst in her brain, and in her first interview since the operation, she’s reflected on how her recovery has brought them much closer together.
Speaking to pal Steven Bartlett on her Begin Again podcast, Davina also revealed the impact her surgery had on her partner Michael Douglas, describing the days when she was in intensive care as ‘the most testing time’ for him.
Davina shared that her father, who died in 2022, first married her stepmother Gabby when she was six years old, and after living with her grandmother for many years, she moved in with them when she was 13.
The star has previously shared insight into her fraught relationship with her birth mother Florence, who she described as an ‘alcoholic.’ She died in 2008.
Davina told Steven that for years she suffered guilt at moving in with her father and stepmother, wrongfully believing that they didn’t want her there, but after her surgery the pair finally talked things through and are now closer than ever.
Davina McCall has revealed her brain tumour surgery completely changed her relationship with her stepmother Gabby, admitting she’s ‘fallen in love with her in a major way for the first time’
The presenter, revealed that Gabby spent two weeks with her while she recovered from her operation, and said she ‘fell in love with her in a major way for the first time’
She said: ‘Michael helped me put a new pair of glasses on and look at my stepmum in a different way and I’ve literally fallen in love with her in such a major way for the first time.
‘So she said to me – this is a good example – she said to me ”what kind of pyjamas are you taking to the hopsital?” and I was like ”what kind of pyjamas do you think?” and she went ”oh my God, are they really sexy?” and I would have read that five years ago as an insult ”oh you think I’m too sexy”, now I was like ‘yes!” and we laughed and we laughed about it.
‘I took off ”you wish I’d never come to live with you” and I put on ”I think you always wanted me to live with you” it’s amazing, they’re much nicer glasses.
‘We’ve talked about it non-stop it’s unbelievable, she looked after me for two weeks, we walked arm in arm, we talk we laugh we’ve been so honest to each other.
‘My mum and I have gone deep, since this operation we’ve had the most amazing time ever. We were both aware that we were like two cogs that were just slightly out of kilter, as we were just getting stuck sometimes.
‘I’d noticed she was reaching out to me a bit [before] because I think she’s 75 and like me, she’s looked death in the face and through ”I want to heal everything”.
‘I am so annoyed about this, if everybody’s watching, or if you’ve got anybody in your family, please talk to your family because doing anybody else’s thinking is none of you business.
‘I think that we both felt that our feelings about how the other person was feeling were correct and both of our feelings about each other were making us feel like it was correct.’
Davina also revealed the impact her surgery had on her partner Michael Douglas, describing the days when she was in intensive care as ‘the most testing time’ for him
The star underwent life-saving surgery in November 2024 after a rare colloid cyst was discovered in her brain, and though benign, it carried the risk of sudden death
While sharing insight into how much Gabby supported her during her recovering from surgery, Davina admitted that the most difficult time for her partner Michael came during the first few days following the operation, when she was in intensive care.
She said: ‘What’s been interesting, is that I think it has been the most testing time for him ever, to see me who is Mrs in Control of everything.
‘I mean beforehand, the fear and everyhing bought us really really really close together but I think the first month for him in hospital was so painful and difficult and hard, and that Whatsapp group was his therapy, his saving grace, I don’t know what he would have done without it.
‘But this is the amazing thing about him as a man, he is everything. He is strong, he’s soft, he’s funny, he’s serious, he’s really smart and super silly.
‘I think I was in intensive care for two/three days in the end.. I htink for him I think for Michael those few days at the beginning, even after three or four days we had a breaktrough.’
Davina revealed that she wrote individual letters to all of her children – Holly, 23, Tilly, 21, and Chester, 18 – in case she didn’t survive.
‘What I wanted to do was to try and find a way that they would all find a way through if I didn’t make it. They make me very proud’, she said.
Steven also spoke of a WhatsApp group he was added to by Davina, full of her friends and family, to talk about what was going on. ‘If something bad happened, who do I not want to hear it from a paper?’ Davina said of who made the cut.
‘It’s funny because I was put in a WhatsApp group with your friends and family, etc,’ Steven said. ‘My first observation was how big that WhatsApp group is. I was like, “Jesus Christ, she’s got some friends!”‘
Davina replied: ‘Do you know what I was thinking when I made the WhatsApp group, is who do I… if… if something bad happened, who do I not want to hear it from a paper?
‘So, I was kind of thinking, in a way, I want them to hear good things. Who… who do I want to hear the news first before anybody else gets it? And that was my list of people.
‘And it was, you know, people like you, who I work with, who I really care about. And then there were obviously my family members. And it was quite nice putting that list together because I thought, “I have so many people I really care about in my life.”‘
Davina has been open about her health scare and previously gave an emotional update in an Instagram video as she urged others to get private health checks if they can afford it
Davina has been open about her health scare and previously gave an emotional update in an Instagram video as she urged others to get private health checks if they can afford it.
The My Mum Your Dad presenter had her tumour picked up at a private clinic when she was offered a health check after taking part in a talk about menopause.
Discussing her progress after the surgery, she explained: ‘I really feel a lot more myself now. I feel way better.
‘My sense of gratitude is growing by the day, I’m crying a bit less which is good. I’m really looking forward to Christmas.
‘I want to talk about the place I did my health check. I didn’t sing about it from the roof tops is it costs more than most people could afford. It’s expensive – BUT it did save my life. But it is prohibitively expensive for most.
‘The NHS also offers loads of other checks too. So get them – get the health check. Preventative medicine is better than reactive medicine.
‘Eat well, do exercise, be less stressed. I just feel so grateful now. I’d like to say a massive thank you to all the staff at the clinics – I’m pretty sure you saved my life.’
