Davina McCall health update released after ex-Big Brother host undergoes brain tumor surgery

Davina McCall is recovering in hospital after undergoing brain surgery to remove a “very rare” tumour.

The TV host, whose credits include Longest lost family and Your mother, my fathertold her fans she was about to undergo surgery after specialists discovered the tumor three months ago.

McCall said the 14mm benign tumor – called a colloid cyst – is so rare that it affects only three in a million people.

The presenter’s partner, hairdresser Michael Douglas, posted an update on her condition on Instagram and said Masked singer The judge’s fans: “Davina is out of surgery and according to the surgeon it was a textbook.”

He continued: “She is currently recovering in ICU as a precaution as you can imagine she is absolutely exhausted. Thank you so much for all the love from everyone on here.. this is powerful stuff, we are super grateful. “

It comes after McCall shared a video on Instagram revealing her diagnosis.

She said: “I’m posting this. It’s going to be Friday morning and I’m doing it because a couple of months ago I did a menopause interview for a company and they offered me a health scan in return that I thought I was going to , but it turned out I had a benign brain tumor called a colloid cyst, which is very rare, three in a million.

“And so I kind of stuck my head in the sand for a while and then I saw quite a few neurosurgeons. I got a lot of opinions and I realized that I have to get them out.”

McCall described it as a “big” tumour, 14mm wide, adding: “It needs to come out because if it grows it would be bad.”

Davina McCall is 'absolutely exhausted' after brain tumor removal

Davina McCall is ‘absolutely exhausted’ after brain tumor removal (Getty)

She said she had it removed through a craniotomy, a surgical procedure to temporarily remove part of the skull, and that she was in “good spirits.”

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“I’m going to be in the hospital for about nine days and then I’m going home, but I’m going to be off my phone for a while,” McCall said. “But I don’t want you to worry about me. I’ll do it as it is.

“I’m in a good place and I have all the faith in the world in my surgeon and his team and I leave the reins to him. He knows what he’s doing.”

According to the NHS, non-cancerous brain tumors are more common in people over 50 and symptoms include headaches, blackouts, behavioral changes and loss of consciousness.

In a message to McCall’s account, Douglas said she will be “off the grid for a while” while she recovers.

He added: “She’s in good shape and in very good hands. I’ll do the odd update from her account here for anyone interested.

“I’m sure she’ll read all the comments when she’s able so please send love. The support from people is incredibly powerful. Have a great day everyone. Michael xxx.”

The former Big brother the host has long been a champion of women’s health issues and has presented documentaries on birth control and menopause.

McCall has long been a champion of women's health

McCall has long been a champion of women’s health (ON)

Last year she was made an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honors for services to broadcasting and in 2022 she published a book entitled Menopause: The Positive Roadmap to Your Second Springwith the aim of putting an end to “the shame and terrible misinformation surrounding menopause”.

In the same year, she fronted the Channel 4 documentary Davina McCall: Sex, Mind and Menopause. She told the BBC that perimenopausal symptoms had caused her difficulties with multitasking, leading her to wonder if she might have a brain tumor or Alzheimer’s disease at the time, as her father Andrew suffers from the latter condition.

Additional reporting from agencies