Davina McCall is recovering in hospital after undergoing brain surgery for a “very rare” tumour.
The TV presenter, 57, said in a video posted on Instagram on Friday that the benign brain tumour, known as a colloid cyst, was found after she was offered a health checkup as part of her menopause advocacy work.
She said the chances of having it were “three in a million” and said she would be having surgery to remove it.
In a statement posted on her Instagram on Friday night her partner, Michael Douglas, shared an update on her condition.
“Davina is out of surgery and according to the surgeon it was textbook,” he wrote.
“She’s currently recovering in ICU as a precaution, as you can imagine she’s utterly exhausted.
“Thanks so much for all the love from everyone on here … it’s powerful stuff, we are super grateful.”
McCall revealed her diagnosis in a video earlier on Friday.
She said: “I’m posting this. It will be Friday morning, and I’m doing it because 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, but it turned out I had a benign brain tumour called a colloid cyst, which is very rare, three in a million.
“And so I slightly put my head in the sand for a while, and then I saw quite a few neurosurgeons. I got lots of opinions, and I realised that I have to get it taken out.”
McCall described it as a big tumour, 14mm wide, adding: “It needs to come out, because if it grows, it would be bad.”
She said she was having it removed through a craniotomy, a surgical procedure to temporarily remove part of the skull, and said she was in “good spirits”.
“I’m going to be in hospital for about nine days, and then I’m going to be going home, but I’m going to be off my phone for a while,” McCall said.
“But I don’t want you to worry about me. I’m doing that enough as it is. I am in a good space, and I have all the faith in the world in my surgeon and his team, and I am handing the reins over to him. He knows what he’s doing.”
According to the NHS, non-cancerous brain tumours are more common in people over the age of 50 and symptoms include headaches, blackouts, behavioural changes and loss of consciousness.
Douglas said the presenter would be “off grid for a bit” while she recovered.
He added: “She is in great shape and in very good hands. I’ll I do the odd update from her account here for anyone interested.
“I’m sure she’ll read all the comments when she’s able to so feel free to send love. The support of people is amazingly powerful. Have a great day everyone. Michael xxx.”
The former Big Brother host, who presents the ITV dating show My Mum, Your Dad, has long advocated on women’s health issues and has presented documentaries on contraception and menopause.
Last year, she was awarded an MBE in the king’s birthday honours for services to broadcasting.
Her sister, Caroline Baday, died from lung cancer in 2012 at the age of 50.
