And her homelife is now
firmly on track too, after a
tumultuous time in her 20s and early
30s – she’s spoken openly about
the drug and alcohol addiction she
battled with in her 20s and her
difficult relationship with her mother.
It’s clear things are still going well
with her husband of 10 years, former
Pet Rescue presenter Matthew
Robertson, 41, when she texts a sexy
snap of herself in a pair of stockings
during our shoot. But it’s her three
children – Holly, eight, Tilly, six and
Chester, three – who are the obvious
stars of the show. Her daughters are
both keen dancers and she’s debating
whether to send them to classes,
conscious that she doesn’t want to
be a pushy ‘showbiz’ mum.
Life to date, for Davina, has been a
rollercoaster of highs and lows, but as
she talks to Stylist it’s instantly obvious
that Davina has found contentment.
You’re famed for being permanently
perky. Do you ever feel there is a
pressure for you to perform, to be
‘Davina McCall’, even with friends?
No, because that is actually me. I’ve
always been the same. I was mainly
brought up as an only child, so I was
always a one-man show. I could
perform the whole of Grease from
start to finish.
Are you really this happy all the time?
Obviously there are times when I’m
tired but my feeling is if I’ve been hired
as ‘Davina McCall’ then just bloody
shut up and get on with it. Last night
I probably had the best part of four
hours sleep because my son, Chester,
was lying on my head in bed. I could
have arrived this morning and said,
“I’m really, really tired,” but I’ve learnt
that moaning just brings you and
everyone else around you down,
so it’s futile.
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What insecurities did you have in
your 20s?
I had insecurities all my life until I met
Matthew. I had horrific abandonment
issues and I was always frightened
that if I got close to somebody they
would leave me. Often I would mess
up a relationship because I thought,
“Well, I’m going to leave you before
you leave me.” Matthew was the
person who broke the pattern.
What was it about him that made you
feel secure in a way other men hadn’t?
He wasn’t a game player; he’s really
upfront and straightforward and
doesn’t care who I am. It actually takes
a very strong man to be with a woman
who’s famous. If we go out to an event
and he asks someone a question, often
they’ll direct their answer to me – they
won’t even look at him. Luckily he
doesn’t care because his confidence
comes from having an amazing family.
He doesn’t need to be adored. I think
he’s pretty extraordinary in that respect.
How do you like to spend your
time together?
If we go out alone we love the cinema.
We spend our lives looking at the
trailers deciding what our next
movie-fest should be. We have a new
addition to our family, a dog called
Beau, so we walk her quite a bit too.
What do you love most about
your husband?
He makes me laugh a lot and it really
defuses situations. He can sometimes
make me laugh in the middle of an
argument, which is very annoying. His
humour is very puerile, deeply childish
and what’s really nice is he’s infecting
our children with his silly sense of
humour too. A lot of farting goes on,
and a lot of chasing round the house.
In what ways has your relationship
changed since you’ve had children?
I’ve only really learnt with Matthew
“I was frightened that if I got close
to someone, they would leave me.
My husband broke the pattern”
Do you see yourself as confident?
Probably, but I don’t think I’ve always
been that way. Showing off often gets
confused for confidence, when actually
you’re showing off because you need
attention to make you feel secure. But
I do feel more confident now. I used
to think people who said they were
happiest in their 40s were trying to feel
better about their skin going saggy. But
it’s actually true. I wish I had felt like this
when I was in my 20s but I just didn’t.
that you can’t change somebody.
Whatever they were when you
married them, that’s what they’re going
to be for the rest of their life. He’s
unbelievably romantic and very funny
and has the kids laughing all the time.
That means a lot more to me than
whether he can put his breakfast plate
in the dishwasher.
Any romantic gestures you’d like to
share with us?
Well the last one was the pièce de
WITH TROUSERS THIS FABULOUS,
WHO NEEDS THE ABILITY TO
STAND? OR BREATHE?
résistance. I was working in Manchester
and he drove five hours to surprise
me in my hotel bedroom, then came
and watched me record my show the
next day. When I got back to the hotel
room that night after he’d gone, there
was a ‘Do not disturb’ sign on the door
and the room hadn’t been made up.
I was just about to call maid service
when I went into the bathroom and
he’d written “Love you, very proud” in
lipstick on the mirror and he’d put the
sign on so they didn’t wash it off!
What would you say you liked most
about yourself?
I was born with a sense of optimism.
All through my life I’ve thought it was
going to be OK. I’ve got friends who
will always see the negative side of
things, so I’m very grateful.
You’ve spoken openly about suffering
from drug and alcohol addiction
throughout your early 20s. Did you
remain optimistic even through that?
I did, bizarrely. In a funny way that’s
probably why I didn’t get clean earlier.
I was 24 when I got clean. I thought it
was just a fad, that I’d be fine, but
I wasn’t. It was pretty depressing. It got
bad at times but I always thought it
was going to be all right. But doing six
Es a night, then 6g of coke and staying
up for two days is not normal. I also
had a problem with heroin but
alcohol had the strongest hold.
You seem quite comfortable talking
about it now. Did you make a conscious
decision to be open about it?
To be honest, at the beginning I talked
about it because I thought if I didn’t,
somebody else would. I didn’t want
people to think I was hiding it or
I was ashamed of going to Alcoholics
Anonymous. But at the same time, I
didn’t want to talk about it as much as
I have because I don’t want to seem
like I’m bragging about it, as I think
that’s quite dangerous as well. I hope
I never make it sound like it was cool.
I was just trying to be honest about it.
I’m always a bit worried that people
think, “Oh look, she did drugs and
look where she’s at, she’s fine.”
Do you feel like it’s something you
still have to deal with every day?
No. I have to be vigilant – not so much
the drugs but alcohol. I’ve missed
drinking rosé on holiday but I do still go
to Alcoholics Anonymous and I like it.
That does help keep the lid on it a bit.
Many addicts find that once they lose
one addictive behaviour, they replace
it with another. Have you found that
to be the case with you?
I’d be very, very worried if I ever took
up gambling. We went to a casino on
our honeymoon and my husband is
one of those people who can do £5
bets and I was thinking, “Just put £50
on red!” I also love exercising but I’m
not addicted to it. I mean, three times
a week for an hour a time, that’s fine.
Has that been something in your life
you think has really made a change?
It’s had a huge impact on all aspects
of my life – it’s amazing. On my new
show, Got To Dance, I was wearing
a pink leotard and some quite sheer
footloose tights and a belt. Now
there is no way in hell that 10 years
ago, at 32, I would have done that.
Now, after three children, at 42, I
would. That’s thanks to working out
and I think that part of my confidence
comes from feeling fit.
Is it nice to know that it’s not all over
just because you’re getting older?
I was really worried when I was 32
that life was going to be all over
when I hit my 40s and it isn’t. Your
priorities change – I’m more familycentred
now. At 32 I was quite
self-centred and thought life was
all about me. I wanted to go out
whenever and sleep in the day. But
I’m not dreading 52 in the same way
I was dreading 42.
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