Heroin addiction almost killed Davina McCall before famous ex helped save her
Davina McCall is set to receive her MBE at Buckingham Palace today in recognition of her achievements on-screen, however life has been far from easy for the TV stalwart.
These days she's viewed as the epitome of health, with her rock-hard abs and fitness DVDs, and is an advocate for women's issues, having opened up about her struggles with the menopause. But her lifestyle at 56 is a far cry from her early twenties, when she was tragically hooked on Class A drugs.
In the Diary of a CEO podcast, Davina revealed she first did cocaine at the tender age of 14 with her sister, and a year later at 15 with her mother. By 16, she had used both cocaine and heroin, and by her twenties, she was a full-blown addict, using heroin regularly. "I was a mess. You name it, I took it. Cocaine, ecstasy and heroin. Because of my mistakes I am less judgmental of others," she told The Mirror. Davina was 19 when she formed pop group, Lazy Bear, before pursuing a career as a classical solo artist. But the star quit the music business and became a men's booker at Models 1 before a short stint as a Moulin Rogue-style cabaret performer in Paris.
Davina McCall pictured in 1997 after landing a gig as a presenter on MTVIt almost ended for Davina with an accidental overdose when she was trying to escape her 'dark' reality. "Drugs took me to a very, very, very dark place and, one night, I overdosed," she admitted. "It was very frightening as it was a very gradual overdose. I'd had a cocktail of drugs, because I didn't want to feel normal. I was constantly trying to escape myself - I was like a piece of fruit rotting from the inside."
She devastatingly added: "When you hate yourself so much, you think you are worthless. Someone would smile at me and I wouldn't understand why as I wasn't worth anything. I had to try and love myself but I didn't even like myself, so it was a big leap."
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Davina McCall pictured at the Challenge TV Game Show Awards with Emma Noble in 1998Classing herself a "high-functioning", she thought she was getting away with it, until a fight with a friend led to a moment of realisation. "I always wore make-up, I had a job, I didn't steal. I wasn't like your average street junkie," she told This Morning in 2016. "Everyone is different, but for me, it was when my friend said, 'Everyone is talking about you and what a mess you are,' that changed things. I thought I was fully functioning. But I wasn't. My cover was blown."
Davina reflected on the intervention at 24 in her self-help book, Lessons I've Learned in 2016. She explained that it was her best friend Sarah that had confronted her en-route to a concert, warning her: "I know you're lying to me and I know you've been taking heroin."
Davina had a difficult relationship with her mum Florence, centre (Collect)She penned: "I explained I knew she was right and I wanted to change. She forgave me and we had a massive cry. I went into the NA meeting that night and my life changed. I owe NA my life, literally. But it also gave me my career," she added. Davina got clean when she was 25 with the help of ex-boyfriend Eric Clapton and went on to land a life-changing presenting gig with MTV in 1992.
She added: "And because I got clean I got the job I'd dreamed of and that changed my life forever." The presenter was hired to front Rays Cokes' Most Wanted on MTV Europe, beginning her long-running and successful career in television. Her profile elevated when she became the host of the Channel 4 dating programme, Streetmate, in 1998, followed by the now-iconic reality show Big Brother, that she fronted until 2010.
But her problems, Davina believes, started when she was just a child. She was three when her parents split up and her socialite mother Florence moved back to France. She went to live with her grandparents in Surrey, and while she maintained contact with her dad, she felt abandoned by her alcoholic mother who failed to show for meetings.
"It was just very sad. She probably shouldn't have had kids because she was still a big kid herself," Davina revealed on BBC's Who Do You Think You Are? in 2009. "Obviously she drank a lot, and from a really early age - a bit too young. I know she smoked magic cigarettes. She called them magic cigarettes but I kind of knew what they were from about eight. Just not appropriate behaviour."
Michael Barrymore and Davina pictured back in 1998
She married ex-husband Matthew Robertson in 2000 (Getty Images)Likening their relationship to Eddie and Saffie out of Absolutely Fabulous, Davina recalled once being left alone in a Parisian nightclub when she was just 12. And despite her desperate attempts to forge a good relationship, she remained heartbroken by her mum's ability to show any affection.
"I worshipped her. I had no boundaries. When I was a teenager, it was cool, but half of the time, I wanted a hug or for her to pick me up from the airport," she said. Explaining how the rejection left her "catatonic with grief", in another interview, she revealed: "I couldn’t make her invite me into her bed for a hug when I'd had a nightmare. I felt she'd done something to betray me or hurt me."
On the other side, her mother could be the life and soul of any gathering. "She was party central, but also, I'm at pains to say, along with being quite a chaotic parent, she was really f***ing fun," Davina added.
The pair had one final fall out when Florence sold her story in 2000, just three months after Davina married Pet Rescue's Matthew - who she shares three children with.
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She claimed her daughter's demons resurfaced just a week before the nuptials. However, Davina insisted that although she did visit Narcotics Anonymous, it didn't mean she was about to relapse.
When Florence died in South Africa in 2008, Davina decided not to attend her funeral, admitting she felt "relief" over her passing. "When she died... I could stop swinging from side to side. And I also think, 'Please God, when I die, don't let it be a relief to anybody,'" she said.
Meanwhile, Davina's transition into fitness came in her mid 30s, when she discovered the importance of exercise. After becoming a mother, she wanted to look and feel good again and set out on a mission to educate others at the same time. She released her first workout DVD in 2004, titled Davina: Power of 3, with My Three 30 Minute Workouts released the following year.
Following the release of 14 exercise DVDs in total, in 2019 she launched her online fitness and lifestyle programme 'Own Your Goals' in a bid to help people get fit. It offers hundreds of workout routines, live fitness sessions, healthy recipe ideas and wellbeing advice.
More recently, the health advocate has fronted documentaries on women's health and in 2022, released a book called Menopausing, which won Book of the Year at the British Book Awards last year.
On her latest accolade in the King's Honours for services to broadcasting, Davina responded: "I can't believe it. It's a great honour and it really means a great deal". This afternoon, the TV legend, joined by photographer Nick Knight and fashion designer Roksanda Ilinci, will attend an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace to receive the award.
If you want to talk to someone about drugs in confidence, Frank can be reached via phone: 0300 123 6600 text: 82111 or contact webpage for free.
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