Davina is set to become the host of "The Romance Retreat", ITV's middle-aged answer to Love Island, according to sources. The former Big Brother host is reportedly on the edge of signing a deal with the broadcaster to present the show, which will see single parents look for love in a villa.
Sources at ITV told MailOnline that Davina, 55, was the network's "number one choice" after she pitched the idea. Arguably, the Masked Singer judge has become an "unofficial spokesperson for middle aged women" in recent years, especially with her documentary "Davina McCall: Sex, Myths and the Menopause", in which she opened up about her own experience of going through the menopause.
An insider at ITV said that Davina was the "perfect fit" for the recently announced reality show as she is "bubbly" and "fun". In addition to her personality, the source suggested that Davina was meant for the show as she has "endured her own relationship problems" and was, until recently, "a single mother".
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Davina, who hosted cult dating show Streetmate early on in her career, explained her idea to Dragons' Den star Steven Bartlett on his podcast "The Diary of a CEO" earlier this month. She told the businessman: "I could fill a villa in Love Island with middle-aged people with the best backstories you have ever heard in your life.
"They've lived a life – they're widows, they're people who have been through horrific divorces. They are people who have split up with somebody and decided they want to try going out with somebody the same sex as them. They're like interesting people. I'd watch that show."
ITV recently announced that they were looking for "vibrant single parents" to go on The Romance Retreat. The network wrote on its website: "This is the ONLY dating show where single parents can search for love, by spending time in a luxury retreat, where all the parents have been nominated by their grown up children."
Fitness fanatic Davina married Matthew Robertson in 2000 before divorcing him in 2017. Now, Davina is with hairdresser Michael Douglas, 48, and moved in with her new partner shortly before Christmas.
During her time hosting Streetmate in the late 1990s for Channel 4, Davina would travel the country in search of singles looking for love. The singer-turned-presenter would then hunt down the perfect partner for them by asking random passers-by as she frantically played Cupid.
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