Davina McCall
Davina McCall British Academy Television Awards in April 2009 | |
---|---|
Born | Davina Lucy Pascale McCall 16 October 1967 , England |
Occupation | Television presenter |
Years active | 1992–present |
Employers | |
Spouses |
|
Partner | Michael Douglas (since 2017) |
Children | 3 |
Relatives | Célestin Hennion (great-grandfather) |
Website | Official website |
Davina Lucy Pascale McCall
From 2010 to 2014, McCall presented the Sky One dance competition show Got to Dance. Since 2020, she has been a judge on the ITV musical competition show The Masked Singer, and since 2021, a spin-off of the show, The Masked Dancer.
McCall was appointed
Early life and education
Davina Lucy Pascale McCall was born on 16 October 1967 in Wimbledon, London,[2][1][3] to a French mother, Florence (née Hennion) and an English father, Andrew McCall, a graphic designer[4] and events organiser for Portsmouth Harbour Authority.[5][6][7] At the age of three she went to live with her paternal grandparents in Surrey after the break-up of her parents' marriage.[8] Her mother Florence—whom McCall has described as something of a "wild child" and later, specifically as "an
McCall attended
Career
McCall's first career was as a singer, and she had been performing in a band, Lazy Bear, while still at school. By the age of 19, she had decided to pursue a professional career as a solo classical artist, and briefly commenced classical vocal coaching.[10][11]
Dissatisfied with her lack of success in the music industry, McCall gave up singing and took a job at Models 1 on the men's desk as a booker. Later she ran a restaurant for two years before a brief spell in Paris as a Moulin Rouge-style cabaret performer. On her return to London she worked on the nightclub scene as a hostess.
In 1994, McCall was hired as a presenter on
Channel 4
In 1998, McCall hosted cult dating show Streetmate in which she toured the country meeting single people and matching them up.
McCall was chosen as the presenter of the inaugural series of
McCall's performance on the final night of the
By the
McCall became the regular presenter of the live Big Brother companion show
With audience figures falling, Channel 4 decided that the
Having made the decision to leave the show after Ultimate Big Brother, McCall confirmed she would not be returning as host when
In between the final celebrity and regular editions of Big Brother on Channel 4, McCall began presenting a new game show, The Million Pound Drop. The final episode aired on 20 March 2015, with the primetime series axed in 2016. On 14 July 2017, it was announced that the format would return as a daytime series under the name The £100K Drop.[20]
In 2008 she played herself as both a human and a zombie in Dead Set, a five-part horror parody of Big Brother set in the house.
From 2012 to 2016, McCall co-hosted charity telethon Stand Up to Cancer with Alan Carr, Christian Jessen and Adam Hills. As part of the 2014 telethon, McCall and Carr also hosted a companion series Stars at Your Service.
In April 2013, McCall presented one series of Five Minutes to a Fortune.[21]
From January 2014 to March 2017, McCall presented reality competition The Jump which was broadcast live from Innsbruck and Kühtai in Austria.[22][23] In 2016, McCall presented Make My Body Better on Channel 4.
Sky
Davina co-presented the first series of Prickly Heat alongside Julian Clary on Sky1. She was replaced by Denise van Outen for further two series.
On 20 December 2009, McCall began hosting reality programme
ITV
McCall co-presented the six part series Birthrace 2000 with Lisa Riley in 1999, which featured couples trying to have the first baby of the millennium.[26][27][28]
McCall co-presented four series of Don't Try This at Home for ITV. Her co-presenters were Kate Thornton, Paul Hendy and Darren Day.
When
In 2011, McCall began hosting
In 2013, McCall presented Stepping Out which was seen as a rival to BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing.[30][31]
In 2016, Davina presented a four-part factual series for ITV called Davina McCall: Life at the Extreme. From 2016 to 2019, she has presented three series of This Time Next Year for the channel.[32]
In January 2017, McCall guest presented three episodes of This Morning alongside Phillip Schofield. She returned to guest present an episode in February 2018 with Ore Oduba.
McCall guest presented five episodes of
BBC
During 2005, McCall presented He's Having a Baby, where she followed and advised eight young men who were to become first-time fathers at various stages during the show's ten-week run. It received poor ratings.[citation needed]
McCall has been one of the co-presenters of the annual British charity telethons that are organised by
From early 2006, McCall fronted her own prime-time chat show, Davina. Receiving scathing reviews and with viewing figures falling to below half of the six million watching The Bill on ITV at the same time, the show was axed in April for not reaching expectations with McCall herself saying that the programme was "the worst mistake of her life".[36]
In 2005, McCall made a cameo appearance in the Doctor Who episode "Bad Wolf" as the voice of Davinadroid, a robot who controlled a future version of the Big Brother house. In 2023, She made a second appearance in the show, in that year's Christmas special "The Church on Ruby Road", as a fictionalised version of herself, who dies after being impaled by a Christmas tree. This is later reversed by the Doctor, who travels back in time to prevent her death.[37]
UKTV
McCall presented her own show on the
Other ventures
In 2001, McCall appeared with Ed Byrne, Tristan Gemmill and Tameka Empson as the title character in Sam's Game, a Friends-style sitcom. Slammed by the critics, it aired just once.
In documentary television, McCall has fronted Let's Talk Sex about
In August 2014, McCall was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue.[39]
In 2022, McCall released a book entitled Menopausing; in 2023 it won Book of the Year at the British Book Awards.[40]
McCall has released multiple fitness DVDs since 2004, and written multiple books on her sugar-free diet.
Personal life
McCall was appointed
Family
McCall is fluent in French, as her mother is French.[42]
McCall's previous partners included family friend Eric Clapton.[10][43][44] He also helped her when in her early 20s she developed a heroin[45] addiction, after "doing cocaine with my mum at 15".[46]
She began smoking at 12, drinking at 13, and by her early twenties was using heroin.[47]
After overcoming this, she gained her own television show on MTV.[48] She gave up smoking when she was 24.[49] Her first marriage was to Andrew Leggett in 1997.[50] In June 2000, McCall married her second husband Matthew Robertson, presenter of Pet Rescue, at Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire.[51] Together they had three children: two daughters and a son. In November 2017 the couple separated.
In 2022, McCall and Michael Douglas, a hairstylist, moved in together after five years of dating.[52][53][54]
Ancestry
McCall's ancestry was examined for a 2009 episode of
Participants in the programme included Françoise Hennion (Hennion's granddaughter and McCall's mother's cousin) and Pierre, Hennion's son and McCall's grandfather. Pierre gave McCall his father's Royal Victorian Order medal. McCall met Alfred Dreyfus's great-granddaughter, Yael Ruiz, after learning of the part her ancestor Célestin Hennion played in the Dreyfus affair.[55]
Charity work
In February 2014, McCall undertook a BT Sport Relief challenge called 'Davina – Beyond Breaking Point', seven days of either running, swimming or cycling across the UK to raise money for the UK charity Sport Relief. This challenge was filmed by the BBC as a one-off 60-minute documentary which aired on 20 March 2014 at 21:00 on BBC One.[56] During the live telethon, it was announced that McCall had raised over £2.2 million for Sport Relief 2014.[57]
Filmography
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1992 | MTV Europe
|
Presenter | |
1993 | Eurotrash | Female voice dubber for the first series on Channel 4 | |
1995 | God's Gift | ||
1998 | The Drop Dead Show | ||
Prickly Heat | 1 series; with Julian Clary | ||
1998–2001 | Don't Try This at Home! | 4 series | |
Streetmate | 3 series (plus 2 specials, in 2003 and 2016) | ||
1999 | Birthrace 2000[26] | 6 episodes; also known as Birth Race 2000 Tonight's the Night | |
A Day in the life of the Shepherds | |||
2000, 2003 | BRIT Awards
|
2 episodes | |
2000–2010 | Big Brother | Series 11
| |
2001 | Sam's Game | Sam | |
Oblivious | Presenter | ||
2001–2010 | Celebrity Big Brother | Series 7
| |
2002 | The Vault | 1 series | |
Popstars: The Rivals | 1 series | ||
2003 | Stars in Their Eyes | Stand-in presenter | 3 episodes; stand-in for Matthew Kelly |
Reborn in the USA | Presenter | ||
2004 | Love on a Saturday Night | ||
2004, 2006 | BAFTA TV Awards
|
2 episodes | |
2005 | Doctor Who | Voice | Voice of Davinadroid in the episode Bad Wolf |
A Bear's Tail
|
Dave Ian McCall | ||
He's Having a Baby | Presenter | ||
2005–2015, 2021 | Comic Relief | Co-presenter | |
2006 | Davina | Presenter | 1 series |
2006—2018 | Sport Relief | Co-presenter | |
2007 | Let's Talk Sex | Presenter | |
Big Brother: On The Couch
|
|||
The Friday Night New Year Project | Guest presenter | ||
2008 | Dead Set[58]
|
Herself | Plays fictionalised version of herself as Big Brother host (also as a zombie)
|
4Music's Davina & Steve's 20 Big Ones | Co-presenter | ||
2008, 2009–2010 | Big Brother's Big Mouth
|
Presenter | |
2010 | Ultimate Big Brother | ||
2010–2014 | Got to Dance | 5 series | |
2010–2015 | The Million Pound Drop | 15 series (inc. specials) | |
2011–2012 | The Biggest Loser | 2 series | |
2011— | Long Lost Family | Co-presenter | 11 series (+ 6 revisited series, + 3 without trace series); with Nicky Campbell |
2012 | Girls Aloud: Ten Years at the Top | Narrator | One-off programme |
2012–2016, 2021 | Stand Up to Cancer UK
|
Co-presenter | 3 episodes; with Alan Carr, Christian Jessen and Adam Hills |
2013 | Five Minutes to a Fortune | Presenter | 1 series |
Stepping Out | 1 series | ||
2014 | Stars at Your Service
|
Co-presenter | 1 series; with Alan Carr |
2014–2017 | The Jump | Presenter | 4 series; with Alex Brooker in 2014 only |
2015 | The Secret Life of Your House | Narrator | One-off programme |
One Hundred and Eighty | Presenter | 1 series; with Freddie Flintoff
| |
2016 | Davina McCall: Life at the Extreme[32] | 1 series | |
2016–2017 | Make My Body Better | 1 series | |
2016—2019 | This Time Next Year[59] | 3 series | |
2017 | The Davina Hour | 1 series | |
The Nightly Show | Guest presenter | 5 episodes | |
2017, 2018, 2020 | This Morning | 5 episodes | |
2018 | Ariana Grande at the BBC | One-off programme | |
2018–2019 | The £100K Drop | Presenter | Daytime series of The Million Pound Drop |
2020 | The Big Night In | Co-presenter | |
Big Brother: Best Shows Ever
|
10 episodes; with Rylan Clark-Neal
| ||
Back to the Noughties with Davina McCall | Presenter | ||
2020— | The Masked Singer UK | Judge | 4 series |
2021 | The Masked Dancer UK | 2 series | |
Davina McCall: Sex, Myths and the Menopause | Presenter | Documentary[60] | |
2022 | Davina McCall's Language of Love
|
Dating reality show[61] | |
Davina McCall: Sex, Mind and the Menopause | Documentary[62] | ||
2022— | Who Cares Wins Awards | Host | Awards ceremony[63] |
2023 | Davina McCall's Pill Revolution | Presenter | Documentary[64] |
My Mum, Your Dad | Host | Dating show[65] | |
Celebrity Gogglebox
|
Herself | Series 5 | |
Doctor Who | Episode: "The Church on Ruby Road" | ||
2024 | Born from the Same Stranger | Narrator | Genealogy show[66] |
- Guest appearances
- Blankety Blank (1998)
- The Kumars at No. 42 (2001)[67]
- Top Gear (2005)
- Room 101 (2007, 2017)
- Question Time(2007)
- The Paul O'Grady Show (2008, 2015)
- Would I Lie to You? (2008, 2009)
- Chris Moyles' Quiz Night (2009)
- Who Do You Think You Are? (2009)
- Alan Carr: Chatty Man (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013)
- Celebrity Juice (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014)
- A Comedy Roast (2010)[68]
- This Morning (2011, 2013, 2014, 2015)
- The Jonathan Ross Show (2014)
- Mel and Sue (2015)[69]
- Through the Keyhole (2015)
- Alan Carr's 12 Stars of Christmas (2016)
- Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled (2017)
- John Bishop: In Conversation With... (2017)
- Celebrity Catchphrase (2019)
Fitness DVDs
- Davina: Power of 3 (released 27 December 2004)
- Davina – My Three 30 Minute Workouts (released 5 December 2005)
- Davina – My Pre & Post Natal Workouts (released 5 March 2007)
- Davina – High Energy Five (released 3 December 2007)
- Davina – Super Body Workout (released 8 December 2008)
- Davina Fit (released 7 December 2009)
- Davina – Body Buff (released 6 December 2010)
- Davina – Ultimate Target (released 5 December 2011)
- Davina Intense (released 10 December 2012)
- Davina – Fit in 15 (released 2 December 2013)
- Davina: 7 Minute Fit (released 26 December 2014)
- Davina: 5 Week Fit (released 26 December 2015)
- Davina: 30 Day Fat Burn (released 26 December 2016)
- Davina: Toned in 10 (released 26 December 2017)
Bibliography
- Davina's 5 Weeks to Sugar Free (released 8 January 2015)
- Davina's Smart Carbs (released 31 December 2015)
- Lessons I've Learned (released 22 September 2016)
- Davina's Sugar-Free in a Hurry (released 29 December 2016)
- Menopausing ISBN 9780008517786(released 15 September 2022)
References
- ^ a b "McCALL, Davina". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 6 February 2009.
- ^ Husband, Stuart (12 June 2005). "The Real McCall". London: The Guardian/Observer. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
- ISBN 1-870520-10-6.
- ^ "Davina McCall: in at the deep end". The Guardian. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
- ^ "TV presenter completes memory walk after dad, from Gosport, diagnosed with dementia". Portsmouth.co.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
- ^ "Who Do You Think You Are?, Series 7, Davina McCall". Who Do You Think You Are?. 15 July 2009. BBC. BBC Two.
- ISBN 9781843586845. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- ^ Hilton, Beth (5 June 2008). "Ten Things You Never Knew About Davina McCall". Digital Spy. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
- ^ Byrne, Ciar (7 December 2005). "Davina McCall's £1m deal makes her BBC's first female chat-show host". Independent. London. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
- ^ a b Davina McCall Profile Biogs.com. URL accessed 3 September 2006
- ^ Honey, Sam; Heap, Emily-Jane (6 May 2022). "Davina McCall's quiet life in Tunbridge Wells and her famous ex-husband". Kent Live. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
- ^ Davina McCall Profile Hello!. URL accessed 3 September 2006
- ^ "ENTERTAINMENT - Geldof's Big Brother battle". BBC News. 20 April 2000. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
- ^ "Big Brother 6: Ofcom to investigate over Makosi's treatment" Archived 3 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine Manchester Evening News, 16 August 2006. URL accessed 3 September 2006
- ^ "Complaints Over Davina's Treatment Of Makosi" UnrealityTV 17 August 2005 Archived 21 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 3 September 2010
- Now magazine. Retrieved 19 May 2008.
- ^ "Davina: 'I'm not leaving Big Brother'". Digital Spy. 13 May 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2008.
- ^ "Davina McCall 'quits Big Brother'". Digital Spy. 6 May 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2008.
- ^ "McCall rules out Big Brother return". Entertainment.stv.tv. 8 April 2011. Archived from the original on 22 December 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
- ^ "The Million Pound Drop is returning... as The £100K Drop". Radio Times. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
- ^ "Davina McCall to host new Channel 4 gameshow Five Minutes to a Fortune – TV News". Digital Spy. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
- ^ Drewett, Meg. "Davina McCall to host "nerve-shattering" new Channel 4 show 'The Jump'". Digital Spy.
- ^ "Channel 4 recommissions The Jump for a second series". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
- ^ "Got to Dance axed by Sky1 after five series". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
- ^ Nissim, Mayer (12 August 2015). "The spirit of Bullseye has been revived in Sky's new gameshow One Hundred and Eighty – TV News". Digital Spy. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ^ a b "BFI Collections - Birthrace 2000". BFI Collections. 17 March 1999. Archived from the original on 6 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ "BFI Collections - Birth Race 2000 On Your Marks". BFI Collections. 17 March 1999. Archived from the original on 6 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ "BFI Collections - Birth Race 2000 Tonight's the Night". BFI Collections. 10 April 1999. Archived from the original on 6 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ "'Long Lost Family' renewed for fourth series by ITV – TV News". Digital Spy. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
- ^ "Davina McCall to host ITV 'Strictly' rival: Lineup revealed – TV News". Digital Spy. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
- ^ "Davina McCall: 'Stepping Out is different to other dance shows' – TV News". Digital Spy. 25 August 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
- ^ a b "ITV commissions Life At The Extreme. Presented by Davina McCall | "ITV Press Centre"". Itv.com. 27 April 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ^ "ITV announces host and panel for new ITV show The Masked Singer". Press Centre. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ "The Masked Singer Episode 1". Press Centre. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ "ITV commissions The Masked Dancer". Press Centre. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
- ^ Before The Nightly Show: remembering Davina McCall's disastrous talk show, Davina The Daily Telegraph, Rebecca Hawkes, 14 March 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
- ^ Scott, Danni (25 December 2023). "TV legend 'killed' in 'iconic' Doctor Who Christmas cameo". Metro. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
- ^ W [@wchannel] (2 August 2017). "The incredible @ThisisDavina tackles modern life's biggest challenges in brand new to W show #TheDavinaHour, starti…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories". The Guardian. London. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- ^ "Davina McCall and Sir Salman Rushdie win at British Book Awards". BBC News. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
- ^ "No. 64082". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2023. p. B22.
- ^ "Long Lost Family on ITV: Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell return with more emotional tales 'of loss, of love, of wonder'". Hull Daily Mail. 13 July 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- ^ Hallam, Katy (12 May 2021). "Davina McCall has a really famous ex boyfriend - and he saved her life". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
- ^ Pelley, Rich. "One last thing... Davina McCall". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
- ^ "Davina McCall says struggle with addiction made her a stronger person". The Irish News. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ Walcott, Escher (5 January 2023). "Davina McCall breaks down over 'troubled' mum as she admits she took cocaine with her". Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ "Desert Island Discs, Davina McCall - 12 things we learnt from Davina McCall's Desert Island Discs". BBC Radio 4. BBC. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ Interview by Cole Moreton (9 March 2008). "Davina McCall: 'I'm fine. Really. It just hurts so much'". The Independent. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
- ^ "Davina McCall interview for Stand Up to Cancer – Channel 4 – Info – Press". channel4.com. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
- ^ TV and Radio. "Davina McCall gets physical". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
- ^ "Eastnor Castle News Archive – Eastnor to Host GMTV Wedding of the Year". Eastnorcastle.com. Archived from the original on 7 January 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
- ^ "Celebrity Gogglebox 2023 line-up: Meet the famous telly watchers". Radio Times. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ Drake, Matt (18 January 2023). "Davina McCall's boyfriend permanently moves into her 'dream' Kent home". KentLive. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ Moffatt, Andy (19 June 2023). "Celebrity Gogglebox 2023: who is Davina McCall's partner - and what is Michael Douglas' connection to Lancashire". Lancashire Evening Post. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ "Who Do You Think You Are? – Davina McCall". The National Archives. Archived from the original on 26 July 2009. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
- ^ "Strictly, Davina McCall among BBC One's Sport Relief lineup – TV News". Digital Spy. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- ^ "Davina – Beyond Breaking Point". Sport Relief. Archived from the original on 27 September 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- ^ "Dead Set". E4.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2010. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
- ^ "Davina McCall for 'time travel' makeover show". Digital Spy. 23 August 2015.
- ^ "Davina McCall: Sex, Myths and the Menopause". channel4.com. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
- ^ "Cupid's arrow flies transcontinental in new Channel 4 dating series The Language of Love (w/t)". channel4.com. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
- ^ "Davina McCall: Sex, Mind and the Menopause". channel4.com. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- ^ "Who Cares Wins returns to Channel 4". channel4.com/press. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
- ^ "Davina McCall's Pill Revolution". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
- ^ "New dating show My Mum, Your Dad hosted by Davina McCall". itv.com/presscentre. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
- ^ "Born from the Same Stranger review: Children track down their biological parents in teariest show on TV". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Graham Norton and Davina McCall". Tv.com. Archived from the original on 13 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
- ^ Wightman, Catriona (30 September 2010). "Davina McCall to appear on 'Comedy Roast'". Digital Spy. London. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- ^ "Mel & Sue". RadioTimes. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
External links
- Official website
- Davina McCall at IMDb