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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Harriet Brewis

Davina McCall says she feels ‘very French’ as she discusses Moulin Rouge rumours

Davina said her maternal heritage was 'very important' to her and her kids teased her for going 'full French' when in France. (Picture: REUTERS)

Davina McCall said she feels "very French", as she stoked rumours she once worked at the Moulin Rouge.

One of Britain’s most popular TV personalities, Davina is the daughter of an English father and a French mother and she was born in Wimbledon, west London.

The 51-year-old said she’d always embraced the French side of her character and admitted she has done nothing to refute rumours she once performed at the Moulin Rouge.

"When I go to France I feel very at home,” the former Big Brother presenter told BBC Radio 3's Classical Fix.

Davina looks Parisian-chic at the UK premiere of Richard Curtis film 'Yesterday'. (PA)

"Culturally I think I feel very split down the middle. I do feel very French," the mum-of-three said, adding that her Gallic cultural heritage is "very important" to her.

"My kids always laugh at me whenever we go to France. They also say I go a bit French from the minute I get on the plane, and by the time I've landed I've gone full French.

"Full French is a way that I hold myself. They even say that my mouth moves differently,” she explained.

http://players.brightcove.net/1348423965/default_default/index.html?videoId=5660877398001

"I gesticulate more with my hands, I'm more expressive."

When she was 18, McCall spent six months as a singing waitress in Paris.

This sparked rumours she worked at the infamous Moulin Rouge nightclub – a story she is proud to perpetuate.

"I have done nothing to quash that rumour," she said.

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