Davina McCall experienced ‘advanced Alzheimer’s’ symptoms after her brain tumour operation
Davina McCall said she ‘couldn't remember anything’ when she suffered from advanced Alzheimer’s symptoms following her brain tumour operation.
The Masked Singer UK presenter, 58, revealed in November 2024 that she had been diagnosed with a rare, benign brain tumour known as a colloid cyst, which was discovered during a health check-up. After the tumour was successfully removed via surgery later that year, Davina said she experienced symptoms of later stage Alzheimer's.
On the Mad Sad Bad podcast, McCall said: "After I'd had my brain tumour taken out, I had advanced Alzheimer's, so I couldn't remember anything.
"When I came out of the operation, I didn't know I'd had an operation.
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"The staff came in every day, and they'd go, 'What's my name?' and I'd go, 'I don't know'.
"Michael would come and visit for two hours, and he'd go to the loo and come back, and I'd go, 'Oh my God, you're here,' and I didn't know he'd been there.
"I couldn’t watch a movie for six months, because I couldn’t remember what had happened in the movie 15 minutes before. A book I couldn’t remember the page before."
“Many people with later-stage dementia will struggle with their memory of recent events,” explains the Alzheimer's Society.
“They may often think they are at an earlier period of their life (known as ‘time shifting’). This can cause challenging situations, for example, if they ask to see someone who is no longer alive.”
2025 was the ‘hardest year’ for both her and partner Michael Douglas after she was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier in the year.
"I'm so relieved to have had it removed and to know that it hasn't spread," she said at the time.
"All I'm gonna do now is have five days of radiotherapy in January as kind of an insurance policy, and then I am on my journey to try and stop it ever coming back."
While hosting Comic Relief in March 2025, she admitted: “It’s been, quite possibly, the hardest thing I’ve ever been through and this whole experience, weirdly, kind of weighing up all the risks and all the positive things about having this tumour removed made me think deeply about what life is all about, and what really, really matters when things get tough.”
Davina announced in April this year that she had been given the all-clear from breast cancer.
Taking to Instagram, she said: "It was very, very small, so I got it very, very early which is incredibly lucky."
The TV host added: "I think my message is: get checked if you're worried. Check yourself regularly. If you are due a mammogram, then get it done."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.
Anish Vij