TV presenter Davina McCall opened up about the major action she took after being diagnosed with a brain tumour during a health check-up as part of her menopause advocacy work in November. Despite being told it was benign, the 57-year-old was convinced death was imminent and proceeded to make an end-of-life checklist, which she now says was “the best gift.”

During an emotional interview, the former Big Brother host admitted that the list came four months after her diagnosis because she spiralled into denial. However, she took action after receiving a “wake-up call” from her fourth neurosurgeon, who issued her a stern warning to act quickly or else she would die. Davina recalled: “It’s a big tumour. It can’t grow anymore, or you’ll get water on the brain. If you’re on a plane, there would have to be an emergency landing.”

Speaking at Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place Festival, Davina said: “I needed to get my brain in the right place where I could be calm before the operation.

“I had to make sure that my kids were going to be OK if I did not make it. That is all I really cared about. I knew my partner, Michael, would be OK as he is a whole person, but I was really worried about my kids.”

Davina and her “soulmate” celebrity hairdresser Michael have been dating since 2019, following the end of her 17-year marriage to Matthew Robertson in 2017. 

The star, who shares Holly, 23, Tilly, 21, and 18-year-old Chester with her ex, added: “I went into forensic thinking about my children and where they were at in their lives, what stage they were at. You are only happy as your unhappiest child.”

She added: “But I realised that they would be great, they would miss me, and I want to be with them, but they would be fine.

"I felt I could go to sleep on the operating table and know that they were all here to help me, but I can let go of the outcome, and it was the best gift."

Davina revealed that in the end, her checklist came down to finding peace in the fact that her loved ones would survive without her.

The mum of three claims her brain surgery is "the best thing to ever happen to me.”

Davina continued: “I am not afraid of dying anymore. It was the biggest journey of my life. It was an amazing time.

“I have been on a massive life journey, and I have been through terrible struggles. That is where the learning comes from. If something really hard happens now, I know it is a good thing.”