Davina McCall reveals she 'wrote letters and a will' before her brain tumour surgery 'in case she died' - as Jamie Theakston emotionally admits cancer has been a 'real gift'
has revealed she urgently wrote letters and a will before her brain tumour surgery to make sure 'everyone was okay if she died'.
The presenter, 57, who is now in the all clear, was diagnosed with a colloid cyst, a rare type of benign brain tumour in November and underwent a six-hour operation.
Prior to the life-threatening surgery, Davina admitted on her Begin Again podcast this week that she went to 'extreme' measures in case anything bad happened during the operation.
Speaking to her guest Jamie Theakston about their respective cancer journeys, she explained: 'I have never had thought processes like I had before my operation.
'Some people were like "You were quite extreme" because I was like I need to make sure everyone is alright if I die, will, letters.
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'You did that?', Jamie asked.
'Yeah. I mean I was literally telling everybody [that I was fine]. But being on an operating table is a risk at our age.'
Last month Davina appeared in a video with her partner Michael Douglas, where she confirmed she had received the all clear after undergoing an MRI scan.
The TV personality also shared unseen before and after snaps from her scan revealing that the tumour has completely disappeared from her brain.
Accompanying the video, Davina wrote: 'So here it is. Our final brain surgery update. Had the final MRI this week. @brain.surgeon.uk got everything out during surgery, it's not coming back.
'Thanks so so much to everyone at @onewelbeck and @clevelandclinic . To my mum and @mdlondon for taking such good care of me . To Sarah for being my BFF to my amazing kids. To @brain.surgeon.uk for being the GOAT.
'I am so so grateful particularly because I know a lot of people have inoperable tumours and and I know I'm lucky to be able to draw a line under this and move on with my life when so many people can't. And I'm just gonna say this one more time. Benign does not mean fine.'
She told how she had her final MRI and admitted that she was nervous' as if any of the tumour was left that it would grow back and she'd have to 'go through the whole thing again'.
She noted that she'd 'mentally prepared herself' for that scenario, while Michael added that he too was nervous as it had been 'a huge journey'.
Laughing with joy and relief, Davina then added: 'but it was clear!'
Elsewhere in the podcast, Jamie, 54 - who is now cancer free - reflected on his emotional journey.
Jamie announced he had been diagnosed with stage one laryngeal cancer in October 2024 after listeners had noticed there was something not right with his voice. It's cancer is a type of cancer that affects the larynx (voice box).
The radio host, who has a monthly laryngoscopy check up, said that although he has been through hardship he admitted cancer has been a 'real gift' as he now doesn't take life or his family for granted.
Jamie said: 'I feel in a much better place not only physically but also mentally because I have learnt so much about myself, and about how strong you can be.
'I've learnt about other people, about friends and family about how important they can be. Supporting, being there, not taking them for granted. It has been a real gift.
'Often when bad things happen to us, in the aftermath of that there can be good things to take from it and I really do feel that I am a better person because of what I have been through than what I was before.
'I can look back about what things are important, I'm much more relaxed about work and about life.
'When you tell your children you have cancer and what that might mean to then telling your children you don't have cancer and what that might me.
'And all of a sudden you see your future ahead of you and it's like that's pretty cool. When I got through it, all I did was plan ahead. Months, years ahead because I've got my future.'
Elsewhere in the chat, Jamie revealed he initially kept his possible cancer diagnosis a secret from beloved wife Sophie Siegle for weeks as they enjoyed a family holiday to Japan.
The Heart Breakfast host said he was so blindsided by the news he worked hard to 'suppress it' in order to enjoy the trip with their sons Sidney, 17, and Kit, 16.
Jamie said that he had to undergo emergency scans just hours before boarding a plane for their long-awaited family trip.
'I didn't tell anyone. At that stage, I thought, well, it might not be cancer. So there's no point really in saying anything,' he said. 'I just tried to suppress it. All I could think was, it's probably not.'
It wasn't until the biopsy results came back that the cancer diagnosis was confirmed. 'I then had to go home and tell my wife,' he said. 'She was distraught.'
'I went on holiday with this in the back of my mind, We had a fantastic time - but obviously, this was there in the background.'
Breaking the news to his sons, he said, was the hardest part: 'I had to explain to them that I was going to be fine, but they were too young to understand. When you say you've got cancer to a 14-year-old, they think you're going to die'.
'My youngest son had been with me when I was told my mum had died of cancer, so he knew what it meant.'
Jamie lost his mum in late 2022. 'I was so pleased that she had died before I got cancer,' he said. 'I would've hated for her to know. I'm not sure what that would've done to her.
During the chat he recalled how listeners noticed his voice had changed: People mentioned my voice wasn't sounding right,' he said. 'And I knew it wasn't right myself, but you just think - sore throat, nothing serious.'
But a visit to a throat specialist changed everything. 'He looked at my throat and said, 'Oh yeah, that's probably cancer' I said 'What do you mean?' And he said 'Nine times out of ten, it is cancer and we need to get you scanned now.''
After his initial surgery, doctors feared some cancerous cells may have been left behind, prompting a second, and eventually a third operation. 'We were getting dangerously close to removing so much of the vocal cord that I wouldn't be able to talk again,' he reflected.
But the third surgery was successful, and in January this year, Jamie triumphantly returned to Heart Breakfast alongside co-host Amanda Holden - whom he credits with getting him through it. 'Amanda was incredible,' he said. 'She checked in on me nonstop. She kept the show going. She's a force of nature.'
Jamie, who once shied away from talking about personal struggles publicly, says he now feels a responsibility to speak out - especially given how unusual his type of cancer is.
'The cancer I had, laryngeal cancer, is very rare. A lot of doctors I spoke to had never even seen a case of it. But because it presents itself through your voice, you can diagnose it early. And that's why I'm still here.'
He's become evangelical about early diagnosis. 'Cancer outcomes at stage one are really good. But once it gets to stage three, it's not.'
What is laryngeal cancer?
According to the NHS website, Laryngeal cancer is a type of cancer that affects the larynx (voice box).
The larynx is part of the throat found at the entrance of the windpipe (trachea). It plays an important role in helping you breathe and speak.
In the UK, there are more than 2,000 new cases of laryngeal cancer each year.
The condition is more common in people over the age of 60. It's more common in men than women.
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