Davina McCall to have brain surgery for ‘very rare’ benign tumour

Davina McCall has said she is to undergo brain surgery after being diagnosed with a “very rare” tumour.

The TV presenter, 57, said the benign brain tumour, known as a colloid cyst, was found after she was offered a health check-up as part of her menopause advocacy work.

In a video on Instagram, she said: “I’m posting this. It will be Friday morning, and I’m doing it because a few months ago I did a menopause talk for a company, and they offered me a health scan in return, which I thought I was going to ace, but it turned out I had a benign brain tumour called a colloid cyst, which is very rare, three in a million.

“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.”

McCall described it as a “big” tumour, 14mm wide, and said: “It needs to come out because if it grows it would be bad.”

She is having it removed through a craniotomy, a surgical procedure to temporarily remove part of the skull, and said she was in “good spirits”.

“I’m going to be in hospital for about nine days, and then I’m going to be going home, but I’m going to be off my phone for a while,” McCall said.

“But I don’t want you to worry about me. I’m doing that enough as it is. I am in a good space, and I have all the faith in the world in my surgeon and his team, and I am handing the reins over to him. He knows what he’s doing.”

According to the NHS, non-cancerous brain tumours are more common in people over the age of 50, and symptoms include headaches, blackouts, behavioural changes and loss of consciousness.

McCall said her partner, Michael Douglas, would keep fans updated on her condition.

In a message to her account, he said she would be “off grid for a bit”, while she recovered.

He added: “She is in great shape and in very good hands. I’ll 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. Michael xxx.”

McCall, a former Big Brother host who currently presents the ITV dating show My Mum, Your Dad, has long advocated on women’s health issues, and has presented documentaries on contraception and menopause.