'Singing has helped me recover'

Stranded on Honeymoon Island presenter Davina McCall on dealing with brain surgery, finding gratitude and writing her new book

- JULIE ANN TRAINOR

For Davina McCall, the last 12 months have been some of the most challenging, and also rewarding, times of her life. The presenter’s world was turned upside down when she was diagnosed with a cyst in her brain that would require surgery. She found out just before she won a Special Recognition honour at the National Television Awards in 2024, knowing she would have to go into surgery six weeks later — although the audience were not privy to that at the time.

‘Everybody else knew why it meant so much. It just meant the world to me, because I wasn’t sure where I was going to be six weeks later, so when I got it, it was the best ever. Hannah Waddingham gave it to me, and I love her, she’s such a friend of mine.’

Davina — who came to public attention fronting shows such as Big Brother and StreetMate in the early 2000s — underwent successful brain surgery in November to remove the benign tumour. Afterwards, the