TV presenter Davina McCall has opened up on the legacy she hopes to leave behind after she was diagnosed with a brain tumour and made an ‘end-of-life checklist’
TV legend Davina McCall has opened up about her wishes for her legacy, having created an “end-of-life checklist” prior to undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumour.
The former Big Brother presenter was left reeling when a routine brain scan last year uncovered a benign tumour growing in her brain. Davina expressed her desire for her legacy to be one of positivity, stating she wants to be remembered as someone who “made people feel good”. This revelation came after her frightening health ordeal prompted her to prepare a checklist for her loved ones.
In conversation with TV Times, she said: “I guess it (what she wants her legacy to be) would be that I want to make people feel good.
“Having this surgery made me want to live life to the max and this show (her new show Stranded on Honeymoon Island) felt like quite an adventure. I love love and helping people find it.”
At the close of last year, 57-year-old Davina underwent surgery to remove the tumour. She revealed to Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place festival that she had prepared a checklist for her family ahead of the procedure.
Reflecting on the mental preparation required before the operation, she said: “I needed to get my brain in the right place where I could be calm before the operation.
“I had to make sure that my kids were going to be OK if I did not make it. That is all I really cared about. I knew my partner, Michael, would be OK as he is a whole person, but I was really worried about my kids.”
Davina is mum to three children – Holly, Chester and Tilly – with her second husband Matthew Robertson. She explained how she became “forensic” when considering how her health might affect her youngsters.
She explained: “I went into forensic thinking about my children and where they were at in their lives, what stage they were at. You are only happy as your unhappiest child.”
After her operation last year, she kept her Instagram followers in the loop: “My short-term memory is a bit remiss but that’s something I can work on. I’m writing down everything I’m doing to keep myself feeling safe.”
Davina rose to fame in the noughties presenting reality TV phenomenon Big Brother during its golden era, fronting the programme from 2000 to 2010.
More recently, she’s been working alongside Nicky Campbell on Long Lost Family, helping to reconnect relatives who’ve been separated for years.
She crossed paths with her current beau Michael Douglas when he worked as her hairstylist on Big Brother, though it would be years before romance sparked between them.
The pair became an item after the telly star split from her second spouse. Davina and Michael took the plunge and moved in together in 2022.
Stranded on Honeymoon Island kicks off tonight (Wednesday, September 3) at 9pm on BBC One. Davina also features on Long Lost Family tonight at 9pm on ITV.
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