Davina McCall has revealed the heartwrenching plans she made for family and friends in case she died during her brain tumour operation. The TV presenter, 57 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. She has now given her first interview since the terrifying ordeal as she sat down with friend and fellow podcaster Steven Bartlett on her own show, Begin Again.

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.

Davina McCall has revealed the heart-wrenching plans she made for family and friends in case she died during her brain tumour operation. The TV presenter, 57 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. '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."'.

As Davina's operation loomed the mother-of-three became so fearful of dying that she ensured her affairs were in order. ‘I wrote letters of wishes to all the children, and put those in my will.’. The Long Lost Family host believed that ‘in my head, I was literally the healthiest person in the world... And I had this head-to-toe scan. 'And they came back and they went, “Okay, we've got your results. Um... we'd like to talk to you."’.

She has now given her first interview since the terrifying ordeal as she sat down with friend and fellow podcaster Steven Bartlett on her own show, Begin Again. 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. 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.

Davina also revealed she named her brain tumour, and even threw it a party. She said: ‘I called my brain tumour Jeffrey. I needed to name it something. 'And I didn’t have any personal friends that were called Jeffrey, so it seemed like a good name to call him. And we had a Jeffrey happy birthday party with friends.’. She said her boyfriend, hairdresser Michael Douglas, 49, ‘played the piano and sang some songs and sort of did speeches. And we all kind of talked about things and I talked about the fact that I was a bit scared, but “I know I’m going to do it".

‘And if it was going to happen to anybody, it was good it happened to me because I am robust mentally and I can handle it.’. Despite the severity of her condition, she was determined to avoid pity. ‘I just did not want the drama, right? I felt like the drama would make it a hundred times worse for me. I don’t want limp necks. “Oh my God, oh my...” I don’t want pity. Because a lot of people have said to me since, “When you told me, I thought you could die.”.

‘And I thought, “I don’t want people looking at me like I could die. I’m dealing with that myself.” I just want positivity.’. Davina also revealed she named her brain tumour, and even threw it a party. She said her boyfriend, hairdresser Michael Douglas ‘played the piano and sang some songs and sort of did speeches'. A colloid cyst is a slow-growing tumour typically found near the center of the brain.

The benign growth contains gelatinous material. Most patients present with headaches, although other symptoms including vertigo, memory problems and double vision can occur. If large enough, a colloid cyst obstructs the movement of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain. This results in a build up of CSF in the ventricles of the brain and raises pressure in the skull. Surgery may be required promptly in order to reduce the relatively high risk of sudden death.