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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Hannah Roberts

Davina McCall confirms secret engagement to partner following brain tumour surgery

Television presenter Davina McCall has announced her engagement to hairdresser Michael Douglas, her representative has confirmed to the PA news agency.

The news comes months after the 57-year-old revealed her "final MRI" showed a benign brain tumour had been fully removed during surgery and was "not coming back".

The former Big Brother host underwent an operation in November 2024 to remove a colloid cyst, discovered during a health check-up offered as part of her menopause advocacy work.

Following her surgery, McCall spent time in intensive care before recovering at home with Douglas’s help. The couple reportedly met on Big Brother in the early 2000s, when Douglas styled her hair, a detail first reported by The Sun.

McCall and Douglas co-host the ‘Making The Cut’ podcast, and she is often seen having her hair styled by him in posts on his Instagram page.

McCall previously praised her partner for his love and support as they navigated the buildup to the brain tumour operation and the recovery process.

The couple reportedly met on Big Brother in the early 2000s, when Douglas styled her hai (Alamy/PA)

“That’s been incredibly helpful in terms of coping with everything, and in the lead-up. I was always going to get the truth from Michael,” she said.

“Three weeks before the operation, I showed Michael my true feelings. I said I felt really scared. I had a massive cry… he said that when we first got together, he was like, ‘You’re quite hard to look after, how do I do that?’ And when we had that big talk, he said, ‘You know, I’ve been in training for this moment. And I’m ready, you know, I’ve got your back.’”

The couple recently made an appearance together at the National Television Awards (NTAs), where McCall presented the prize for authored documentary.

McCall, who won the special recognition award in 2024, told the 2025 winners’ room that the prize “meant so much” because she “wasn’t sure where I was going to be six weeks later”.

She added: “It was mega, it was the best ever and Hannah (Waddingham) giving it to me, I love Hannah, Hannah’s such a friend of mine and everything and I ugly cried.”

McCall had received the award in September 2024, two months before she revealed she would be undergoing brain surgery.

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.

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