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Davina McCall

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Davina McCall
MBE
McCall in 2018
Born
Davina Lucy Pascale McCall

(1967-10-16) 16 October 1967 (age 58)
Wimbledon, London, England
OccupationTelevision presenter
Years active1992–present
Spouses
  • Andrew Leggett
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1997; div. 1997)​
  • Matthew Robertson
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2000; div. 2018)​
  • Michael Douglas
    ​
    (m. 2025)​
Children3
RelativesCélestin Hennion (great-grandfather)
Websitethisisdavina.com Edit this at Wikidata

Davina Lucy Pascale McCall (born 16 October 1967) is an English television presenter. She rose to prominence as the host of Channel 4's Big Brother from 2000 to 2010 and Celebrity Big Brother from 2001 to 2010. She has also presented programmes including Streetmate, The Million Pound Drop, The Biggest Loser, Long Lost Family, This Time Next Year, The Jump, and My Mum, Your Dad. Since 2020, she has been a judge on The Masked Singer UK.

After establishing herself in entertainment and reality television, McCall later became known for factual programming, particularly programmes centred on personal stories, health and relationships. In the 2020s, she presented Davina McCall: Sex, Myths and the Menopause, Davina McCall: Sex, Mind and the Menopause, Davina McCall's Pill Revolution and Davina McCall's Language of Love. Her later work has been associated with widening public discussion of menopause and women's health in the United Kingdom.

McCall was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting. She received the Special Recognition award at the National Television Awards in 2024.

Early life and education

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Davina Lucy Pascale McCall was born on 16 October 1967 in Wimbledon, London, to a French mother, Florence (née Hennion), and an English father, Andrew McCall.[1][2] After her parents separated, she went to live with her paternal grandparents in Surrey at the age of three.[3]

In later interviews, McCall said that her relationship with her mother remained difficult in adulthood, and that she eventually sought therapy to address it. She said that the estrangement continued to shape her private life and her understanding of family relationships.[4][5]

She attended St Catherine's School, Bramley and Godolphin and Latymer School, and studied for nine O levels and two A levels.[6]

Career

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Early career and breakthrough

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Before entering television, McCall worked at Models 1 and later in hospitality and London's nightclub scene.[7] She later said that, after becoming sober in her mid-20s, she began working in television and secured a role with MTV Europe.[8]

Later profiles linked McCall's television breakthrough closely to her recovery from addiction. Eva Wiseman wrote that McCall had spent several years pursuing work at MTV; after attending Narcotics Anonymous and becoming sober, she secured the audition that led to her first presenting role there. Simon Hattenstone likewise wrote that sobriety preceded the career phase that made her a familiar television presence.[9][5]

McCall's early television work included presenting on MTV Europe and ITV, and in the late 1990s she became more widely known as the host of Channel 4's dating show Streetmate.[10]

Big Brother and mainstream fame

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In 2000, McCall was chosen to present the inaugural series of Big Brother.[11] She hosted the programme's live eviction shows and began presenting Celebrity Big Brother the following year.[12] Big Brother became closely associated with McCall's public profile and remained the programme for which she was best known during her years at Channel 4.[9]

Profiles of McCall during and after her Big Brother years frequently emphasised her warmth and accessibility as a presenter. Stuart Husband wrote in 2005 that she had "cornered the market in empathy and excitement", while Cole Moreton described her as "like a big sister on the telly". In a 2025 profile, Simon Hattenstone argued that early reality television suited McCall because she appeared to care about participants rather than merely manage them.[13][4][5]

McCall remained the face of Channel 4's Big Brother throughout the 2000s. Alongside it, she presented other entertainment programmes including Popstars: The Rivals and The Vault, and became a regular co-presenter of the BBC charity telethons Comic Relief and Sport Relief.[14][5] In 2008, she appeared as a fictionalised version of herself in the Channel 4 horror serial Dead Set, set in the Big Brother house.[15][16]

In 2005, the BBC announced that McCall would host Davina, a weeknight BBC One chat show commissioned for eight hour-long episodes. The programme was billed as BBC One's first weeknight chat show since Terry Wogan's had been dropped, and made McCall the first female host of a prime-time British chat show.[17] The show was poorly received and was not recommissioned after its first run. In 2006, BBC One controller Peter Fincham said its failure was "all my fault", describing it as a risk that had not worked.[18] McCall later described the programme as the "worst mistake" of her life and said that, after its low ratings, she feared her career was over.[19] Although she later said that the experience made her fear for her future on television, Big Brother remained central to her public image. Wiseman wrote in 2024 that McCall had long been known as the "beating heart" of the programme.[19][9]

When Channel 4 ended its run of Big Brother in 2010, McCall presented the final regular series and Ultimate Big Brother.[5]

Later presenting and factual work

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In 2010, McCall began presenting Channel 4's live game show The Million Pound Drop.[20] During the 2010s, she fronted a wide range of entertainment and factual programmes, including Sky1's Got to Dance, ITV's The Biggest Loser, Long Lost Family and This Time Next Year, and Channel 4's Five Minutes to a Fortune and The Jump.[21][22][23][24][25]

This period also established McCall as a presenter of factual programming, particularly through Long Lost Family and other programmes focused on personal stories and lifestyle change.[26] In 2017, she also presented The Davina Hour for UKTV's W channel.[27]

The success of Long Lost Family marked a significant shift in McCall's career away from formats built primarily around competition and elimination and towards emotionally driven factual programming. Later profiles have treated this phase as central to her reinvention as a presenter whose appeal rested as much on empathy as on entertainment value.[28][9]

Recent work

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Since 2020, McCall has been a judge on ITV's The Masked Singer UK.[29] She was also a judge on the spin-off The Masked Dancer UK from 2021 to 2022.[30]

In the 2020s, McCall presented programmes about women's health and relationships, including Davina McCall: Sex, Myths and the Menopause, Davina McCall: Sex, Mind and the Menopause, Davina McCall's Pill Revolution, Davina McCall's Language of Love and My Mum, Your Dad.[31][32][33][34][35]

McCall has said that she sees this phase of her career less as offering expertise than as widening access to specialist knowledge. In a 2025 interview, she described herself as "an amplifier" who uses her profile to spread information she thinks is useful, while in 2023 she argued that public discussion of women's health in Britain was beginning to change after having long been treated as secondary.[5][36]

In 2023, McCall appeared in the Doctor Who Christmas special episode The Church on Ruby Road.[37] In 2024, McCall launched the podcast Begin Again.[38] In 2025, she was announced as the host of the BBC dating series Stranded on Honeymoon Island.[39] In 2026, McCall featured in the music video for PinkPantheress' song "Girl Like Me."[40]

Reception and influence

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McCall's later career has been strongly associated with public discussion of menopause and women's health. Coverage of her 2021 documentary on menopause credited it with helping to widen awareness of symptoms and treatment; in 2024, Eva Wiseman wrote that doctors had been "inundated" with requests about hormone replacement therapy after the programme aired, while Bupa reported a threefold rise in demand for its menopause service. The Guardian also reported in 2022 that requests for HRT had risen sharply after the documentary.[9][41]

Academic commentary has also treated McCall's interventions as culturally significant. Deborah Jermyn wrote that the so-called "Davina effect" helped to bolster a new era of menopause awareness, while also arguing that the wider "menopause revolution" was often framed in ways that centred the experiences of middle-class white women rather than a more intersectional understanding of menopause. In 2022, The Guardian also reported criticism from some doctors who argued that parts of the public debate risked over-medicalising menopause.[42][43]

Other work

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McCall has published several books and released a series of fitness DVDs. Her book Menopausing, written with Naomi Potter, won Overall Book of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2023.[44][45]

Personal life

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McCall has said that she began smoking at 12 and drinking at 13, and that by her early twenties she had developed a heroin addiction.[46] She later said that she became sober in her mid-20s and did not return to drug or alcohol use.[47] She is fluent in French.[48]

McCall married Andrew Leggett in 1997. In 2000, she married television presenter Matthew Robertson; they had three children and later divorced.[49] In September 2025, she announced her engagement to celebrity hairdresser Michael Douglas, whom she married in December 2025.[50][51]

McCall's ancestry was explored in a 2009 episode of Who Do You Think You Are?. With the help of historians Jean-Marc Berliere and Simon Kitson, she learned that she was descended from the French police official Célestin Hennion and, on her father's side, from James Thomas Bedborough, a stonemason, councillor, mayor and property developer.[52][53]

In February 2014, McCall undertook the BT Sport Relief challenge Davina – Beyond Breaking Point, spending seven days running, swimming and cycling across the United Kingdom to raise money for the charity.[54][55]

In 2024, McCall underwent surgery for a colloid cyst. In 2025, she said MRI scans showed that the tumour was not returning.[56][57] In November 2025, she said that she had undergone surgery for breast cancer after finding a lump, and that it had been caught early and had not spread.[58]

Honours and recognition

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McCall was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting.[59] She received the Special Recognition award at the National Television Awards in 2024.[60]

Selected filmography

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Television

[edit]
Year(s) Title Role
1998–2001, 2016 Streetmate Presenter
2000–2010 Big Brother Presenter
2001–2010 Celebrity Big Brother Presenter
2002 Popstars: The Rivals Presenter
2006 Davina Presenter
2008 Dead Set Herself
2010–2015 The Million Pound Drop Presenter
2010–2014 Got to Dance Presenter
2011–2012 The Biggest Loser Presenter
2011– Long Lost Family Co-presenter
2013 Five Minutes to a Fortune Presenter
2014–2017 The Jump Presenter
2016 Davina McCall: Life at the Extreme Presenter
2016–2019 This Time Next Year Presenter
2017 The Davina Hour Presenter
2020– The Masked Singer UK Judge
2021–2022 The Masked Dancer UK Judge
2021 Davina McCall: Sex, Myths and the Menopause Presenter
2022 Davina McCall's Language of Love Presenter
2022 Davina McCall: Sex, Mind and the Menopause Presenter
2023 Davina McCall's Pill Revolution Presenter
2023– My Mum, Your Dad Host
2025 Stranded on Honeymoon Island Host

Works

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  • Davina's 5 Weeks to Sugar Free (2015)
  • Davina's Smart Carbs (2015)
  • Lessons I've Learned (2016)
  • Davina's Sugar-Free in a Hurry (2016)
  • Menopausing (2022)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Husband, Stuart (12 June 2005). "The Real McCall". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  2. ^ Debrett's People of Today 2005 (18th ed.). Debrett's. 2005. p. 1034. ISBN 1-870520-10-6.
  3. ^ Husband, Stuart (12 June 2005). "The Real McCall". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  4. ^ a b Moreton, Cole (9 March 2008). "Davina McCall: 'I'm fine. Really. It just hurts so much'". The Independent. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Hattenstone, Simon (6 September 2025). "'I wasn't terrified of dying, but I didn't want to leave my kids': Davina McCall on addiction, reality TV and the brain tumour that nearly killed her". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  6. ^ Byrne, Ciar (7 December 2005). "Davina McCall's £1m deal makes her BBC's first female chat-show host". The Independent. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  7. ^ Wiseman, Eva (15 September 2024). "'I throw everything at it': Davina McCall on harnessing her feelgood factor". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  8. ^ Hattenstone, Simon (6 September 2025). "'I wasn't terrified of dying, but I didn't want to leave my kids': Davina McCall on addiction, reality TV and the brain tumour that nearly killed her". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  9. ^ a b c d e Wiseman, Eva (15 September 2024). "'I throw everything at it': Davina McCall on harnessing her feelgood factor". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  10. ^ Hattenstone, Simon (6 September 2025). "'I wasn't terrified of dying, but I didn't want to leave my kids': Davina McCall on addiction, reality TV and the brain tumour that nearly killed her". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  11. ^ "Geldof's Big Brother battle". BBC News. 20 April 2000. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  12. ^ Hattenstone, Simon (6 September 2025). "'I wasn't terrified of dying, but I didn't want to leave my kids': Davina McCall on addiction, reality TV and the brain tumour that nearly killed her". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  13. ^ Husband, Stuart (12 June 2005). "The Real McCall". The Observer. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  14. ^ Byrne, Ciar (7 December 2005). "Davina McCall's £1m deal makes her BBC's first female chat-show host". The Independent. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  15. ^ Dowell, Ben (28 October 2008). "TV ratings: Dead Set has a killer debut". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  16. ^ Levesley, David (27 October 2018). "Dead Set: Charlie Brooker's Big Brother zombie horror turns ten". British GQ. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  17. ^ Gibson, Owen (7 December 2005). "Chatshow with Davina heads new BBC1 lineup". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  18. ^ Gibson, Owen (16 May 2006). "Davina was all my fault". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  19. ^ a b "Davina McCall thought her career was 'over' after ill-fated chat show". The Independent. 16 September 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  20. ^ "McCall: 'Million Pound Drop is exciting'". Digital Spy. 21 January 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  21. ^ Plunkett, John (13 May 2010). "Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell to present ITV 'lost families' show". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  22. ^ "Long Lost Family". ITVX. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  23. ^ "Davina McCall to host new Channel 4 gameshow Five Minutes to a Fortune". Digital Spy. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  24. ^ Drewett, Meg (7 November 2013). "Davina McCall to host 'nerve-shattering' new Channel 4 show The Jump". Digital Spy. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  25. ^ Wollaston, Sam (1 March 2016). "Davina McCall: Life at the Extreme review – Davina races a cheetah. Seriously. She's brought her running kit!". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  26. ^ Plunkett, John (13 May 2010). "Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell to present ITV 'lost families' show". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  27. ^ "The Davina Hour". U. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  28. ^ Sweney, Mark (13 May 2010). "Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell to present ITV 'lost families' show". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  29. ^ "The Masked Singer". ITV Press Centre. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  30. ^ "ITV commissions The Masked Dancer". ITV Press Centre. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  31. ^ "Davina McCall: Sex, Myths and the Menopause". Channel 4 Press. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  32. ^ "Davina McCall: Sex, Mind and the Menopause". Channel 4. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  33. ^ "Davina McCall's Pill Revolution". Radio Times. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  34. ^ "Cupid's arrow flies transcontinental in new Channel 4 dating series The Language of Love (w/t)". Channel 4 Press. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  35. ^ "New dating show My Mum, Your Dad hosted by Davina McCall". ITV Press Centre. 9 June 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  36. ^ Abdul, Geneva (5 September 2023). "Davina McCall: tide is turning on women's health and rights". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  37. ^ "Doctor Who star Davina McCall opens up on Long Lost Family scenes". Digital Spy. 28 December 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  38. ^ Duggins, Alexi; Verdier, Hannah; Richardson, Hollie; Aroesti, Rachel (17 October 2024). "Best podcasts of the week: Tears and turnarounds in Davina McCall's new show about new starts". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  39. ^ Hattenstone, Simon (6 September 2025). "'I wasn't terrified of dying, but I didn't want to leave my kids': Davina McCall on addiction, reality TV and the brain tumour that nearly killed her". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  40. ^ Monroe, Jazz (8 May 2026). "PinkPantheress Turns London Into a Moving Walkway in "Girl Like Me" Video". Pitchfork. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  41. ^ Partridge, Joanna (26 April 2022). "Manufacturers struggle to keep up with soaring demand for HRT". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  42. ^ Jermyn, Deborah (2025). "Whose menopause revolution? Investigating the UK's 'Davina effect' and the contemporary menopause market". European Journal of Cultural Studies. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  43. ^ Geddes, Linda (16 June 2022). "Doctors warn against over-medicalising menopause after UK criticism". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  44. ^ Hattenstone, Simon (6 September 2025). "'I wasn't terrified of dying, but I didn't want to leave my kids': Davina McCall on addiction, reality TV and the brain tumour that nearly killed her". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  45. ^ "Davina McCall wins top gong at British Book Awards for Menopausing". The Independent. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  46. ^ Hattenstone, Simon (6 September 2025). "'I wasn't terrified of dying, but I didn't want to leave my kids': Davina McCall on addiction, reality TV and the brain tumour that nearly killed her". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  47. ^ Hattenstone, Simon (6 September 2025). "'I wasn't terrified of dying, but I didn't want to leave my kids': Davina McCall on addiction, reality TV and the brain tumour that nearly killed her". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  48. ^ "Long Lost Family on ITV: Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell return with more emotional tales 'of loss, of love, of wonder'". Hull Daily Mail. 13 July 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  49. ^ Hattenstone, Simon (6 September 2025). "'I wasn't terrified of dying, but I didn't want to leave my kids': Davina McCall on addiction, reality TV and the brain tumour that nearly killed her". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  50. ^ Nanji, Noor (13 September 2025). "Davina McCall engaged to partner Michael Douglas". BBC News. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  51. ^ Nugent, Annabel (11 December 2025). "Davina McCall secretly marries hairstylist boyfriend Michael Douglas months after brain surgery". The Independent. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  52. ^ "Who Do You Think You Are?, Series 7, Davina McCall". Who Do You Think You Are?. 15 July 2009. BBC. BBC Two.
  53. ^ "Who Do You Think You Are? – Davina McCall". The National Archives. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  54. ^ "Strictly, Davina McCall among BBC One's Sport Relief lineup". Digital Spy. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  55. ^ "Davina – Beyond Breaking Point". Sport Relief. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  56. ^ "Davina McCall to have brain surgery for 'very rare' benign tumour". The Guardian. 15 November 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  57. ^ "Davina McCall says her brain tumour is 'not coming back'". The Guardian. 12 April 2025. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  58. ^ "Davina McCall reveals she has undergone surgery for breast cancer". The Guardian. 8 November 2025. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  59. ^ "Birthday Honours List 2023" (PDF). GOV.UK. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  60. ^ "Winners". National Television Awards. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
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