Davina McCall praised Peter Kay for secret support during cancer battle
Davina McCall has praised Peter Kay for being "unbelievably supportive" during her health struggles with a brain tumour and breast cancer.
Davina McCall has praised Peter Kay for being "unbelievably supportive" during her health struggles.
The Masked Singer judge had a benign brain tumour removed in 2024, and the following year she was treated for breast cancer, and she's revealed the 53-year-old comic reached out to offer her guidance and encouragement, even though they didn't know one another very wekk.
Speaking as she picked up a lifetime achievement award at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Davina said: She said: “I had this brain tumour diagnosis and I spoke about it because I was going to disappear off the face of the earth for three months. So I said exactly what it is, how big it is and the name of it so they (media) could cover everything they needed to, and I would be left alone. It was a really good way of dealing with it.
"But when I got breast cancer, it was like f**k, I could really disappear and not talk to anybody about this, but I can’t, because I have done this before.
“And d’you know who helped me, it was really strange it was Peter Kay, he called me when I was in hospital with my brain tumour. And I don’t really know him that well, but he was unbelievably supportive. And then when I had my breast cancer diagnosis, he helped, and he just talked me through 'What do you want to do?'
“And he said: I think you know what you want to do. And I was like: ‘Yeah I want to talk about it.'
“I was kind of angry about having to talk about it because I knew I was going to be questioned about HRT and there was going to be judgment around that.”
The 58-year-old star also praised her husband, Michael Douglas, for his ongoing support, and admitted they had been "pushed apart" by her brain tumour symptoms.
She said: "At the end of brain-tumour-gate, cancer brought us together. The tumour pushed us apart because I had no short term memory – I was over here trying to get better and he was over worrying if I was ever going to come back.
“But cancer smushed us back together in such a weird way, it was just a beautiful way for us to just reconnect and rebond.
“I was almost grateful for that experience, and I caught it early so I did make a full recovery but there was something about it that we needed.”
Meanwhile, although Davina is keen to make more documentaries about women's health, she is not keen to take part in any major reality shows.
She said: “The problem with Strictly is it is around Christmas. I am asked every year, and I’m A Celebrity..., I am asked every year. I don’t know if I could do I’m A Celeb. I think it's a bit like the whole Big Brother thing, you are laying yourself bare. I like to keep a little bit of myself for my family.”
