Davina McCall takes 'huge' step after 'complicated' relationship with mum

06 December 2023 , 23:21

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Davina has started the process of obtaining a French passport (Image: Getty)

Davina McCall has started an application for a French passport, after what she described as a “complicated” relationship with her mother.

Former Big Brother presenter McCall, 56, has said that her French mother Florence McCall was “chaotic” and an alcoholic. In an Instagram post on Wednesday McCall wrote: “Yesterday was a huge day. I went to the French embassy to start the process of getting my French passport.

“This isn’t about just trying to make my life easier. It was a very emotional day. Culturally this feels huge for me. I’ve always felt a huge affinity with France, but I had a complicated relationship with my French mum and I can’t explain why but this feels very healing. Like I’m acknowledging I am half her.

Davina, right, with her mother Florence in the middle (Collect)

“And it feels good x Vive la France.” McCall has spoken about her difficult relationship with her mother, with whom she claims she used to smoke cannabis when she was 12. She told The Times in August: “I don’t want to slag her off. She was my mum, warts and all. She wasn’t perfect. And she did make me, in so many ways, who I am.

“She was party central, but also, I’m at pains to say, along with being quite a chaotic parent, she was really f****** fun. She was spontaneous. I'm not very good at that. I feel like I'm such a wild woman when I'm spontaneous because I'm a planner.

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“I like to be organised because my mum was very chaotic. So it makes me feel safe when I go: 'OK, next Christmas we'll...' And I do that in January.” In her 2016 memoir, Davina admitted that while she loved her mother, their relationship had been undeniably strained. "I believe that my mother loved me, thought I was hilarious, a bit mad and quite funny, and I really loved her and thought she was incredibly glamorous and beautiful, but our relationship really confused me."

Davina McCall has opened up about her relationship with her French mum (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

McCall was inundated with kind messages after sharing the personal update, many of which came from her celebrity pals. "Well done! Our heritage is what makes us who we are," Thomas from Married At First Sight wrote, while actress and dancer Denise Van Outen posted a heart emoji in support of her friend's special milestone.

McCall has most recently hosted My Mum, Your Dad, a dating show for middle-aged contestants which had its first series on ITV1 this year. The groundbreaking reality series saw a group of single parents live in a country retreat together after being nominated by their grown-up kids for a second chance at love. Unbeknownst to the mothers and fathers, their children secretly watched their every move from another location. The kids were also presented with opportunities to select who to match their parents up with for individual dates.

Emma Dooney