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Stephanie Colderick

The Masked Singer's Davina McCall opens up on her alcoholic mum, taking drugs as a teenager and her fears of cancel culture

The Masked Singer judge and TV personality Davina McCall has opened up about having an alcoholic mum, taking drugs aged just 14, and her fear of cancel culture.

Speaking to fellow TV presenter and friend Rylan Clark on his podcast, Ry-Union, Davina revealed what her childhood was like and some of the most difficult times in her life.

You can read more Showbiz news here.

Davina shot to fame when she presented the first series of the popular reality TV show Big Brother and from there has gone to present the Bafta TV Awards in 2004 and 2006, Long Lost Family, and now stars as a judge on The Masked Singer.

Talking to Rylan, Davina revealed that her mum was an alcoholic and that she spent her childhood part-time living with her granny in the UK and spending her summers in France with her mother, where she had "no boundaries".

Calling her mum a "terrible mother" who would only wear a blue coat and flash people in public, Davina said: "She was a terrible mother, she was a wild alcoholic who was really good fun to everybody else."

The 54-year-old described herself as a "classic lost teenager" and explained how aged just 14 she was taking drugs with 20 year-olds while visiting her mum in France.

She had no curfew, could wear any make-up and any clothes and she said she felt like she was leading a double life, having a "prim and proper" image when she was with her granny and being a wild child when she was with her mother.

Davina said: "I was 14, I'd go away with a bunch of 20-year-olds for a weekend, took loads of drugs...and I thought I was it."

While looking back on the past, Davina admitted that she was sad to see that side of her childhood and that she made mistakes she hopes her own children would never do but the experience has made her who she is today.

She said: "I wouldn't change my past, I'm sad I had to go through it but I did learn a lot from it and it has made me who I am today and I am a very different person to that girl back then."

Davina is currently a judge on The Masked Singer (ITV/Vincent Dolman/REX/Shutterstock)

The TV star spoke about overcoming her drug addiction with "years in recovery" and learning to fill the hole she tried to fill with drugs.

She said: "I had this kind of aching chasm in my heart, in my chest and it made me very insecure and needy. And the only time I felt super confident and fantastic was when I was high."

Davina explained how when she felt the effect of the drugs wearing off she would desperately seek out more but now she has recovered she feels very distant from her drug addiction.

She also chatted to Rylan about caring less about what people think as she gets older and used her The Masked Singer outfits as an example.

She said: "My outfits on The Masked Singer have been quite risque, 10 years ago I would have been nervous about putting myself out there like that for fear of being judged and now I don't really care."

While talking about the topic of cancel culture, where celebrities or other well-known figures are instantly dismissed by the public for something they said, Davina spoke about the lack of forgiveness.

She said: "One of the things I think is really weird is hauling somebody over the coals for a Tweet that they made in 2011, in 11 years or 12 years I've changed so much...you have got to be allowed to change your mind."

Davina added: "It seems like forgiveness isn't on the agenda anymore."

Davina became emotional whenRylan asked her who she would re-unite with if it could be anyone, dead or alive.

Naming her sister, Caroline, who died in 2012 from lung cancer, Davina became choked up talking about how much she missed her.

She said: "I really miss her on a daily basis...I miss her every day, I think about her every day and it hurts a bit less but she was my person, she was my sounding board."

Davina also spoke about how her sister living in France with "the mad mother" left Caroline "very damaged" and unable to form genuine relationships with people.

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