Davina McCall shares painful admission about children as she reflects on brain surgery recovery
Davina McCall has revealed she feels “exactly the same” four months after undergoing brain surgery to remove a benign tumour, although she made a heartbreaking admission.
The 57-year-old presenter underwent a craniotomy in November 2024 after doctors discovered a “very rare” colloid cyst in her brain.
In a fresh update, McCall shared insights into her recovery journey after she underwent a five-hour surgery to remove a 14mm colloid cyst from her brain on November 15th, 2024.
She shared the news with fans through an emotional video message on Instagram released the same day.
Following the procedure, McCall spent three days in intensive care before remaining at London’s Cleveland Clinic for a further five days.
The presenter has described the experience as “quite an interesting thing to go through” as she continues her recovery journey.
Speaking exclusively to Hello! at Brain Tumour Research’s gala at London’s Dorchester Hotel, she went on to make a heartbreaking admission about not properly preparing her children for the seriousness of her surgery.
“It was quite funny I arrived back from the hospital and my son went, ‘Oh, I didn’t know it was that serious,'” she told the publication.
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“I didn’t want to worry him, but I hadn’t prepared him if it hadn’t gone well. I felt like I’d slightly shortchanged him there.”
Despite this, she had written letters for her three children in case she didn’t survive the surgery or suffered severe brain damage.
McCall’s brain surgeon Kevin O’Neill compared the complicated operation to “defusing a bomb”.
The cyst, which had been present since birth, posed serious health threats.
Without successful surgery, McCall risked suffering a stroke or being “unable to retain a short-term memory beyond five minutes”.
Had the cyst remained undetected or untreated, there was a one percent chance of her dying suddenly without warning.
The experience has given McCall a new perspective on life.
“Obviously it changes [things]. You have a new look on life, gratitude, love for people, love for nature, love for architecture – everything looks beautiful,” she shared.
“It’s different in that way, but not in personality or anything,” McCall added.
The presenter spoke candidly about how surviving such a serious health scare has transformed her appreciation for the world around her.
Her recovery journey has clearly deepened her gratitude for life’s simple pleasures.
Four months on, McCall is now back at work and making good progress in her recovery.
“Now I’m back to work and everything’s beginning to work again. I’m beginning to process it a lot more, in a good way,” she revealed.