'My libido was on the floor': Davina McCall talks self-pleasure and more at Menopause Summit in Dublin

She’s the poster woman for menopause and is on a mission to end the shame associated with the hormonal transition that affects half the population

TV presenters Grainne Seoige and Davina McCall at the National Menopause Summit. Picture: Marc O'Sullivan

Davina McCall was greeted with deafening applause when she charged onto the stage of the Menopause Summit in Dublin's Mansion House today.

She was here to tell it like it is "warts and all".

Glowing with 200-watt energy, she was true to her word, covering topics from thinning hair to low libido, self-pleasure and vaginal dryness.

"I disappeared for five years - I'd forgotten who I was," said the TV presenter, who had her first hot flush at 44.

"I went grey, my hair went flat - everything about me changed, I was exhausted, I felt too tired to work out - which was really weird for me.".

She was frightened about going on HRT because she thought, "I'm going to get breast cancer ... I remember thinking to myself like that I was never going to take that."

Davina had seen the headline relating to the 2002 Women's Health Initiative, an American study of 16,000 women which reported breast cancer rates increased among HRT users. It led to millions of women stopping their hormonal treatment and a reluctance among doctors to prescribe it. 

The study was discredited years later when it was found the average age of women surveyed was 63, many were smokers, and most were overweight, all risk factors in breast cancer.

TV presenters Grainne Seoige and Davina McCall at the National Menopause Summit. Picture: Marc O'Sullivan

Considering leaving her job, Davina met a doctor who advised her to undergo hormone treatment.

"I've been on HRT for nine years," she said, adding it took eight months to get the dose right. "It got rid of the sweat had a little more energy and slept better at night."

But her "libido was on the floor - I didn't even fancy Brad Pitt."

A low dose of testosterone soon sorted things out within months. "It was transformational for me", she said.

MC Gráinne Seoige didn't hold back either, speaking about her recent TG4 documentary on menopause, Meanapás: Meon Nua.

She paused for thought before taking on the project, aware she was working in a 'youth-obsessed' profession. "I was raising a flag saying, 'hey! I'm menopausal'."

Davina felt similarly before the groundbreaking Channel 4 documentary Sex, Myths and The Menopause was aired in 2021.

"I didn't want to do it but I had to do it," though she was aware it would "age me immediately".

When she started talking about menopause, her press agent asked her not to mention the word vagina - "but now it's OK," she told the capacity audience at the Round Room, who clapped to show their support.

TV presenter Davina McCall at the National Menopause Summit. Picture: Marc O'Sullivan

Older women in the workplace are a particular concern to Davina and she said she wants to see them continue working when perimenopause and menopause symptoms strike. 

Here is a bunch of women who have got 20, 30, 40 years worth of experience at their job and they are boss bitches - what we don't know isn't worth knowing."

The topic of thinning hair came up and a collective sigh could be heard around the room - one woman spoke about how it seriously affects self-confidence.

Davina said she has found the ideal solution - her partner Michael Douglas is a hairdresser. She follows his tips for strong hair: "make sure that you're eating enough protein and you've got enough iron". 

Douglas is also on hand to ensure her hair looks the best before making a TV appearance, adding mini hair extensions - "clips" - to fill out her hair.

The conversation took a sombre turn when Grainne highlighted a stark fact; women in Ireland are most likely to die by suicide at 51. Davina followed with more statistics: 25% of women "sail" through menopause; 50% struggle, and the remaining 25% experience severe symptoms and need support.

Grainne spoke about the generation of women - our mothers and the women before them - who didn't have HRT and had to soldier alone.

She said in the past, women had to handwash the dishes, but now we have dishwashers thanks to technology. The same logic applies to HRT, she argued. Among many comments from the audience, one woman told Davina that seeing a picture of her in a leopard-print bikini brought her "joy".

"I want to show my girls that getting older is fine... I am having the best time in my life," said 55-year-old Davina.

"I'm very grounded in the way I understand myself now. We are never going to be perfect, and I'm going to love myself, warts and all".