Resilient Davina McCall is set to carry on with her weekly podcast even while in recovery from brain surgery. The host of My Mum, Your dad has recently launched a new programme, ‘Begin Again’, and was determined not to allow the discovery of a brain tumour to interrupt its continuity.
Before her six-hour operation on Friday, Davina, 57, managed to pre-record a full series of hour-long chats, guaranteeing her show would maintain its weekly release during her recovery. Having premiered on October 9, Davina’s popular podcast features in-depth dialogues with celebs such as Fearne Cotton, Paloma Faith, and Paul C Brunson, aiming to inspire listeners to see midlife as a period of significant change and growth.
On her committed decision to keep the podcast on track amidst her health issues, a source shared with The Sun: “Begin Again is Davina’s real passion project and there was absolutely no way she wanted its impact put on ice because of her surgery.
“There will be no break in the series run whilst she is out the spotlight. “Davina made sure everything was pre-recorded and put in place so what she feels are important conversations can continue whilst she recovers,” the insider explained.
Last week, it was disclosed that Davina had been urgently taken to hospital for brain surgery. The Masked Singer judge underwent an operation to remove a benign brain tumour measuring 14mm, which she discovered during a health scan a few months ago while delivering a talk for a menopause company, reports the Mirror.
In a video update shared on Friday, Davina requested her fans to keep her in their prayers as her boyfriend Michael Douglas takes over her social media during her recovery period. Michael reassured fans that Davina is in “great shape” but will be “off grid” until she’s fully recovered.
He wrote in the caption of the video: “Hey everyone. Michael here. @davinamccall will be “off grid” for a bit while she recovers from this brain operation. She is in great 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 to so feel free to send love. The support of people is amazingly powerful. Have a great day everyone. Michael xxx.”
In an emotional pre-recorded message alongside the post, the presenter said: “I’m posting this. It will be Friday morning, and I’m doing it because a few months ago, I did a menopause talk for a company, and they offered me a health scan in return, which I thought I was going to ace, but it turned out I had a benign brain tumour called a colloid cyst, which is very rare, three in a million.”
She confessed she was initially in denial: “And so I slightly put my head in the sand for a while, and then I saw quite a few neurosurgeons. I got lots of opinions, and I realised that I have to get it taken out.”
Davina called the colloid cyst a “big” one, measuring 14 mm, noting: “It needs to come out, because if it grows, it would be bad.”
The star told how she will undergo a craniotomy, a surgical procedure to temporarily remove part of the skull.
She finished her update with a request: “Say a prayer for me. I’m in good spirits,” and added reassurance, “I’m going to be in hospital for about nine days, and then I’m going to be going home, but I’m going to be off my phone for a while. But I don’t want you to worry about me. I’m doing that enough as it is. I am in a good space, and I have all the faith in the world in my surgeon and his team, and I am handing the reins over to him. He knows what he’s doing.”
The NHS states that non-malignant brain tumours are seen more often in those aged 50 plus, with headache, blackouts, changes in behaviour, and unconsciousness being common symptoms.
The NHS defines a benign brain tumour as: “A benign (non-cancerous) brain tumour is a mass of cells that grows relatively slowly in the brain. Non-cancerous brain tumours tend to stay in one place and do not spread. It will not usually come back if all of the tumour can be safely removed during surgery. If the tumour cannot be completely removed, there’s a risk it could grow back. In this case it’ll be closely monitored using scans or treated with radiotherapy.”
Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily Showbiz newsletter here.