TV presenter Davina McCall has revealed she is now out of hospital and says it’s “really nice to be back home” following surgery to remove a benign brain tumour.
In an emotional Instagram story posted on Monday, she said she was “on the other side” and wanted to give an “enormous heartfelt thank you” for all the supportive messages she had received.
“It’s meant the world,” she said. “My short-term memory is a bit remiss but that’s something I can work on. I’m writing down everything I’m doing to keep myself feeling safe.
“I’m on the mend, I’m resting, I’m sleeping loads, I feel really good. And very lucky.”
It’s the first time fans have heard directly from the star since she spoke about her diagnosis earlier this month, although her partner Michael continued updating her social media accounts and revealed she was out of intensive care last week.
He also thanked well-wishers and posted a statement to update followers when McCall came out of surgery the previous week.
In Monday’s Instagram story, McCall said she was being “brilliantly looked after” by Michael and her step-mum Gabby and wanted to give a “big up to step-mums”, saying Gabby had “been an amazing rock my whole life” and describing her as “a big dose of vitamin G”.
“When something happens like this, I feel so grateful,” she continued. “I’ve always been grateful, I’ve been really lucky in my life but I feel unbelievably grateful right now.”
The 57-year-old posted a video on Instagram earlier this month, to say she had been diagnosed with a type of benign tumour called a colloid cyst.
A benign tumour is not cancerous, but such cysts tend to grow slowly, according to the Brainstrust charity.
Ahead of her surgery McCall had explained how the tumour had been found by chance.
“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,” she said in a video.
“But it turned out I had a benign brain tumour called a colloid cyst, which is very rare – three in a million.”
Colloid cysts typically form in a fluid-filled cavity in the centre of the brain, and are themselves filled with fluid, the Brains Trust says.
They account for less than 2% of all primary brain tumours, and the rate of growth and symptoms can vary from person to person, according to the charity.
McCall explained a surgeon would perform a procedure called a craniotomy, where part of the skull is removed to take out the tumour.
Mr Douglas previously said the operation had been “textbook”.
McCall’s long TV presenting career includes Channel 4’s Big Brother, ITV’s Long Lost Family, and My Mum, Your Dad, along with Comic and Sport Relief for the BBC.
Earlier this year she won a special recognition award at the National TV Awards, for her contributions to the TV industry over her career.
She also campaigns on menopause awareness, after her changing hormones prompted her to highlight women’s experiences with her work.
Last year she won the top prize at the British Book Awards for 2022’s Menopausing, which she co-wrote with Dr Naomi Potter.
The so-called “Davina effect” saw a huge increase in demand for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after she made a Channel 4 documentary, Sex, Myths and Menopause, in 2021.