Davina McCall: Looking after myself so I feel young, not just look it

The TV presenter on regaining confidence, what wellbeing means to her, and one thing she would tell her younger self

Davina McCall underwent a six-hour operation to remove a benign brain tumour in November last year. Picture: Ancient + Brave/PA

Davina McCall says wellbeing is no longer about aesthetics for her — she wants to “feel young, not just look young”.

The TV star, who announced on Instagram in November 2024 that she needed a six-hour operation to remove a benign brain tumour, has long advocated on women’s health issues and presented documentaries on contraception and menopause.

The former Big Brother host and The Masked Singer judge found out she had a 14mm colloid cyst after getting a health scan last year.

Now McCall says that since the hospital treatment, she’s had to go back to square one with her fitness.

“After my operation, I have had to start from the beginning and go back to couch to 5K, which has been humbling, but I’ve really enjoyed it,” she says.

However, over her years in the spotlight, her relationship with what it means to be healthy has completely shifted.

“When I was in my 20s and early 30s, wellbeing was more about an aesthetic,” says the 57-year-old. “Back then, I was focused on how to get ‘beach body ready’ and I used to yo-yo a lot, up and down. I also loved food, but all the wrong foods.”

True wellbeing “is about being able to run after your kids and not get out of breath”, says the mum of three: 

It’s about being able to take part in everything that they do and not be afraid that you’re not going to be able to do it or you’re going to injure yourself.

McCall says she started her fitness journey after having her second child, Tilly: “When I got pregnant, my entire body got pregnant — my feet got pregnant, my hands got it. You know how some girls look like they’ve just put a football up their top? I was not that person.

“I ballooned with my first baby [Holly], but when it happened again with my second, I thought, ‘How am I going to get rid of this?’

“It took me a year the first time around, and it took me a year the second, but I did it really sensibly the second time around — I was really careful. I looked after my joints, I made sure I didn’t push myself too hard, I just steadily got better, fitter and fitter.

“Fitness and wellbeing for me now is looking after myself to make sure I feel young, not just look it.”

Davina McCall says she started her fitness journey after having her second child

McCall says she would tell her younger self to get into fitness earlier, rather than waiting until she was in her 30s.

“However the main thing I would tell her is that she is going to have lived the greatest life ever,” she says. “I’m enjoying my life so much and I always had thought getting older was terrible.

“But I just get happier and happier the older I become. I might not have the nice tight skin that everybody else has, but inside my heart and my head, I’m content.”

With an influx of fitness and influencers, contradicting information and endless ideas, the modern wellness world can seem daunting and complicated.

McCall likes to keep it simple, though, describing a brisk walk as one of the best practices.

“I walk my dog like I’m late for a meeting, so I don’t amble about on my phone or do things that are going to distract me,” she says. “I walk with purpose and do that twice a day — 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the evening. Your body is going to thank you so much and your mental health will also benefit from it so much.

“I also have my own fitness platform — Own Your Goals Davina — and three or four times a week, I do my half-hour workouts. I’ll also walk to places rather than the car and they are all just simple ways to become more active.”

At a certain age. McCall says it felt like society didn’t see her anymore, which knocked her confidence.

“I think what happened to me in midlife, when I became perimenopausal, I felt like I’d become invisible. Society didn’t see me,” she says.

I felt like I’d become unattractive to men because I could no longer bear children. I had thought, who am I? What is my use? I wanted to disappear.

“However, as I’ve got older, I’ve decided I don’t want to do or think like that anymore.”

With pressures coming from all sides of social media, McCall says it is all about finding your tribe online: “I would recommend finding women you see as style icons and try to replicate that.

“I love women who wear brightly coloured clothes and I met one called Karen [Arthur] who’s got an account called Menopause Whilst Black. I love the way she dresses. It’s really colourful and it’s not overtly sexy in any way but it’s still saying ‘look at me’.

“Seeing these women online made me realise I just need to get a bit more colour in my wardrobe and be less embarrassed about being visible. “It can even be something as basic as wearing a coloured lipstick, or a nice bright coat. All of these things will add to your confidence when you look in the mirror.”