Highlights
- Davina McCall, 59, has revealed on her Begin Again podcast that she has cardiovascular disease, after a benign brain tumour in 2024 and breast cancer in 2025
- She said she had been told her cholesterol was high for "quite a long time" before the diagnosis
- She received an all-clear from breast cancer in April
- The British Heart Foundation says coronary heart disease kills twice as many UK women as breast cancer, and that South Asian people are almost twice as likely to develop it as White Europeans
What she said
McCall made the announcement in an episode of Begin Again released in partnership with the British Heart Foundation, in conversation with heart attack survivor Louise McGill. She wanted people to know she "also" has cardiovascular disease, she said, and that it is "a very important conversation to have."
She said her earlier illnesses had changed how she sees herself. When she had cancer, she said, "you just suddenly feel vulnerable in a way you weren't before." Once you have been ill, she added, you realise "I thought I was invincible." She told listeners she had been told her cholesterol was high for "quite a long time" before the diagnosis, and that cardiovascular disease is "rife," particularly among women after the menopause. She urged women not to "brush things off." She gave little detail about her own treatment.
Three diagnoses, one pattern
Read together, her last two years have a common thread. Two of the three were found because somebody looked, and the third followed a warning sign she had been told about for years.
| When | What | How it came to light |
|---|---|---|
| November 2024 | Benign brain tumour, a 14mm colloid cyst that affects around three in a million people | A company offered her a health scan in return for a menopause talk |
| October 2025 | Breast cancer | She found a lump, kept checking it, then had a biopsy. The lumpectomy was in October and she announced it in November |
| April 2026 | All-clear from breast cancer | A March scan found nothing, after what she called "scanxiety" beforehand |
| October 2026 | Cardiovascular disease | She had been told her cholesterol was high for quite a long time |
She has spoken openly about the toll. We reported on her memory loss after the brain surgery, which she has called "quite possibly the hardest thing I've ever been through." After the breast cancer, she cut her working week to four days, calling her latest project "me, because I can't take care of anyone else if I'm not OK." Early diagnosis has a personal edge for her, too: her sister Caroline died seven weeks after being diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer.
Why it matters for women
McCall's message echoes what the British Heart Foundation has long said. In the UK, coronary heart disease kills twice as many women as breast cancer each year, and more than 800,000 women live with it. Before the menopause, women generally have a lower risk, but afterwards it rises. High cholesterol is a good example of how quietly it can build: most people with it have no symptoms at all.
In England, adults are offered a free NHS Health Check from the age of 40, and it can be repeated every five years until 74. It includes blood pressure and cholesterol tests. The BHF recommends that every woman over 40 has one, and its cardiac nurses can be reached on 0808 802 1234 (freephone, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm).
What it means for British Asian women
For many Eastern Eye readers, the figures are starker still. A major study presented to the British Cardiovascular Society in 2024 found South Asian people were almost twice as likely to develop coronary heart disease as White Europeans, at every age group studied and even after adjusting for known risk factors. South Asian women had a similar risk to White European men. "This large study lays bare that those from South Asian backgrounds are at much higher risk," said the BHF's Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan.
Researchers have also begun asking whether the NHS Health Check starts too late. A recent preprint that has not yet been peer reviewed argues that the extra risk is established in early adulthood, well before 40. The BHF recommends that every woman over 40 has the check, and anyone worried about their own risk can talk to their GP.
Who is Davina McCall?
McCall rose to fame as the first host of Channel 4's Big Brother, fronting it from 2000 to 2010. She has since presented The Million Pound Drop, My Mum, Your Dad and Comic Relief, and is a panellist on ITV's The Masked Singer. She also hosts the Begin Again podcast, and has become one of Britain's best-known campaigners on women's health, particularly the menopause, presenting documentaries on the subject including Channel 4's Sex, Mind and the Menopause.
