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TV personality Davina McCall, aged 57, revealed on her podcast Begin Again to Heart Radio DJ Jamie Theakston that she experienced severe short-term memory loss after brain surgery to remove a rare 14mm colloid cyst, likening it to Alzheimer’s.
McCall discovered the benign colloid cyst, which affects only three in a million people, during a routine health check in 2023.
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Neurosurgeon Kevin O’Neill successfully removed the cyst in 2024, but McCall faced unsettling side effects during recovery, including a 4-kilogram muscle loss.
In a candid conversation, McCall told Theakston, “I woke up with no short-term memory. It’s come back very, very slowly over three months,” describing feelings of paranoia and insecurity.
McCall further shared, “I got paranoid. I got like, insecure. I didn’t trust people that I love and trust. It was horrible, but I could feel it coming back,” connecting her experience to Alzheimer’s.
Theakston compared her symptoms to Alzheimer’s, to which McCall responded, “Yeah, it was,” noting it gave her a deeper understanding of her father’s Alzheimer’s struggle.
McCall’s father, who died in 2022 six years after an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, was someone she “hero-worshipped,” as she shared with Alzheimer’s Society in 2017.
In 2017, McCall recalled her father’s quirky phrases like “I took the overland train” and “Call me when your work is less explosive,” which raised family concerns about his health.
A psychologist assessing her father noted he had likely been affected for a while but used strategies to cope, reflecting his clever problem-solving nature.
McCall told Alzheimer’s Society, “I have grieved the loss of my old dad,” highlighting the emotional toll of his neurological decline.
Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, affects over 944,000 people in the UK, progressively impairing memory and cognitive functions.
The NHS notes that non-cancerous brain tumours, like colloid cysts, often affect people over 50 and can cause symptoms such as headaches, vision problems, and drowsiness.
McCall emphasized the seriousness of benign tumours, stating on Instagram, “Benign does not mean fine,” as some can be difficult to remove without damaging surrounding tissue.
After her recovery, McCall announced an “all-clear” diagnosis in 2024, expressing gratitude on Instagram: “I am so so grateful particularly because I know a lot of people have inoperable tumours.”
McCall reflected on her experience, saying it gave her “a new appreciation for what [her father] had been through and for what [Theakston’s] dad is going through now.”
