English TV presenter Davina McCall, 57, is out of surgery after undergoing an operation to remove a rare brain tumour, according to her partner, Michael Douglas. Ms McCall had previously informed her 1.9 million followers on Instagram in a video message that she had been diagnosed with a type of benign tumour called a colloid cyst. On Friday (Nov 16) evening, Mr Douglas provided the update, stating that Ms McCall was out of surgery after doctors performed what was a ‘textbook’ surgery.
“Davina is out of surgery and according to the surgeon it was textbook. She’s currently recovering in ICU as a precaution, as you can imagine she’s utterly exhausted. Thanks so much for all the love from everyone on here.. it’s powerful stuff, we are super grateful,” read the update by Mr Douglas.
Mr Douglas added that his partner will remain offline for some time as she recovers from the surgery.
“@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,” he wrote.
“I’ll I 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.”
In the video message, Ms McCall described that the tumour’s discovery came as a shock to her. Ms McCall said after she was offered a health scan for a menopause talk she had done earlier, the test results showed the brain tumour.
“I thought I was going to ace it [the test]. But it turned out I had a benign brain tumour called a colloid cyst, which is very rare – three in a million,” she said in the video.
Ms McCall described it as “big”, 14mm wide, adding: “It needs to come out, because if it grows it would be bad.”
“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.”
What is benign brain tumour?
As per doctors, a benign (non-cancerous) brain tumour is a mass of cells that grows relatively slowly in the brain. They are unlikely to spread, but are still serious and can be life-threatening. Such non-cancerous tumours are more common in those above the age of 50.
Symptoms include headache, blackouts, behavioural changes and loss of consciousness.
Who is Davina McCall?
Ms McCall’s presenting career includes the reality TV show, Big Brother, Long Lost Family, and My Mum, Your Dad along with Comic and Sport Relief. In 2023, she won the top prize at the British Book Awards for her book on menopause, co-authored with Dr Naomi Potter.
Ms McCall has extensively contributed to campaigns on menopause awareness and has batted for women’s rights, as per BBC.