Davina McCall's inspirational life - overcoming heroin addiction to braving brain tumour

Big Brother presenter Davina McCall antecedently opened up astir her heartbreaking puerility with her cause addict mother, who exposed her to cocaine and heroin during her teenage years

Davina McCall has flooded hugely traumatic events successful her life, including an addiction to heroin and a chaotic and somewhat neglectful childhood.

The 57-year-old TV presenter and fittingness guru, who is presently recovering from the removal of a benign encephalon tumour, archetypal started smoking cannabis astatine property 12 with her French mother, Florence, who had divided from her begetter erstwhile Davina was precise young. As a child, Davina mostly lived with her paternal grandparents successful Surrey aft Florence told her astatine property 4 that she was going connected a two-week vacation but ne'er came back.

"I grew up reasoning that my mum had near maine and had ne'er travel back…and I was near feeling blameworthy that my granny was looking aft maine and she didn't privation maine successful immoderate way," Davina explained connected the Diary of a CEO podcast. This "defining moment" would "set up a concatenation of events, a fearfulness of abandonment that made maine marque immoderate truly anserine decisions each done my teenage years into my twenties".

On the unusual juncture she would spot her mum successful France, Florence would bash unusual things. She erstwhile drove intoxicated done a cricket lucifer and went retired into the thoroughfare wearing thing but a trench overgarment to flash passers-by.

Florence had her ain intoxicant and cause issues and exposed young Davina to them from a precise aboriginal age. While visiting successful France, Davina would often beryllium forgotten astir - she erstwhile astir drowned successful the oversea but didn't fuss telling her mother. “When I was astir 8 oregon 9 I astir drowned, I was deed connected the caput successful the oversea by a small boat," she recalled connected Desert Island Discs. "I choked and a pistillate saw it and waded retired to maine and lifted maine retired and hugged me. I retrieve lasting connected the formation and reasoning 'Should I archer Mummy?' and past thought determination is nary constituent due to the fact that she won't parent me.

"She ever came first, her feelings and worries and beingness were ever much important and we ever worked astir her."

At the property of 14, Davina started dabbling successful harder substances, taking cocaine for the archetypal clip with her older sister, and later, with Florence. She besides started drinking heavily, explaining: "I couldn’t instrumentality cocaine usually either; I couldn’t conscionable instrumentality it for 4 hours and past spell to bed. I had to instrumentality it for 24 hours; I was an animal."

Aged 15, Davina tried heroin for the archetypal clip and described the acquisition arsenic "like coming home". "When you are connected it, thing other matters, truthful you don’t attraction astir gathering idiosyncratic connected clip oregon picking up your kids from school," she remembered. Heroin, she added, "became my champion friend. It's similar the biggest, warmest, softest cuddle".

It was lone acknowledgment to her champion person Sarah that Davina was capable to footwear her destructive addictions. One time Sarah told her she was taking Davina to a Santana concert, lone to uncover determination was nary gig and that she knew astir Davina's heroin use. At the time, Davina had conscionable travel disconnected a 24-hour cocaine bender and reacted with fury, storming backmost to her begetter and stepmum's home. But an hr later, having reflected connected Sarah's concern, she reached retired to a person who had started the process of betterment and asked for help.

That infinitesimal led Davina to be her archetypal Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meeting. It wasn't agelong earlier she became a regular attendee, which she credits with redeeming her life.

After kicking the drugs to the curb, Davina went to interrogation for a occupation with MTV that she'd antecedently been turned down for owed to her cause use. Taking a accidental connected her, MTV offered her the relation - which kickstarted her palmy vocation successful showbiz.

Sadly Davina's narration with her parent ne'er afloat recovered. She attempted to scope retired to Florence, inviting her to her wedding to Matthew Robertson and adjacent asking her to be an NA gathering with her. To her daze and horror, her parent betrayed her by selling the communicative - with backstage pictures - to a newspaper. "It was similar being stabbed successful the heart," Davina aboriginal revealed, adding that she'd chopped her mum retired of her beingness for bully aft that.

Luckily Davina has since built her ain loving family. She shares 3 children - Holly, Tilly and Chester - with ex-husband Matthew, who she divorced successful 2017.

Since 2019, she has been dating her former hairstylist, Michael Douglas, who has been by her broadside ever since. He is presently sharing updates connected her encephalon tumour conflict with fans, telling Davina's followers connected Monday, November 18, that determination is "light breaking through" aft the diagnosis of her tumour.

"Massive alleviation to spot immoderate airy breaking through. Thanks for each the bully vibes coming successful from each angles. Up and Up. Thanks truthful overmuch to each the good wishers. She truly has made an tremendous leap guardant successful the past 24 hours. She is retired of ICU. She is “loving awareness”. Thank you xx - Michael," helium added.