‘I was filled with self-hatred’: Davina McCall, 52, reveals she was rushed to hospital in her 20s after a ‘frightening’ drug overdose
Davina McCall has revealed that she was rushed to hospital after she was ‘filled with self-hatred’ at the lowest ebb of her drug addiction.
The presenter, 52, confessed that after a cocktail of drugs in her 20s she woke up in a hospital bed, and it was the brush with death that finally pushed her to get clean.
Davina has been open about struggling with drug addiction in the early days of her presenting career, but has now been clean for more than 25 years.
Ordeal: Davina McCall, 52, has revealed that she was rushed to hospital after she was ‘filled with self-hatred’ at the lowest ebb of her drug addiction (pictured in May 2019)
Speaking at an International Women’s Day event as reported by The Sun, Davina revealed that after smoking cannabis at a young age she became addicted to heroin.
The star recalled the complicated relationship she had with her alcoholic mother Florence, adding that she started partying as a teenager as she didn’t have any matriarchal figure to turn to.
Davina said that she spiralled into a drug addiction, which at its worst led to her hospitalisation.
Embattled: The presenter confessed that after a cocktail of drugs in her 20s she woke up in a hospital bed, and within a year of her brush with death she finally got clean (pictured in 1995)
She said: ‘It was very frightening as it was a very gradual overdose. I’d had a cocktail of drugs, because I didn’t want to feel normal.
‘I was constantly trying to escape myself — I was like a piece of fruit rotting from the inside.
‘So then I thought, ‘Well, I’ll just take a valium’, and the next thing I knew I woke up in hospital. At my lowest point, when I was filled with self hatred, it was literally a case of ”get clean, or die”.’
Davina added that it was her best friend, dad and stepmother that helped her see sense, and she enrolled in Narcotics Anonymous.
Within a year of her overdose Davina was clean of drugs, and the star said she still occasionally attends meetings and therapy sessions to keep her on the right track.
Transformed: Within a year of her overdose Davina was clean, and the star said she still occasionally attends Narcotics Anonymous meetings (pictured in January 2020)
After a difficult relationship with her mum, Davina admitted that she sought fame at a young age to fill the void left in the absence of her mum’s love.
The Big Brother presenter added that even after 37 letters of rejection from television companies she strived to keep working.
Davina has openly spoken about her struggles with drug addiction, and in March 2018 she recalled the moment she told her three children about her past.
Hard times: Davina also admitted that she sought fame at a young age to fill the void left by her alcoholic mother’s absence (pictured in 1994)
Speaking on the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast she said: ”I’ve had to be very honest about my past with the children – especially now they have access to the internet.
‘Actually, I had to be brutally honest quite early on when I thought other kids might talk to them about it. They grew up with ‘Mummy’s going to a meeting’ – they just didn’t know it was a Narcotics Anonymous meeting.
‘They were all really very accepting. They’d say, ”We thought it was something like that. Is that why you don’t drink?”
Since quitting drugs at the age of 25, Davina has also quit smoking and drinking, and has inspired others with her incredible fitness regime.
The star has also been dating hairdresser Michael Douglas, after she split from husband Matthew Robertson in 2017.
Sensational: Since quitting drugs at the age of 25, Davina has also quit smoking and drinking, and has inspired others with her incredible fitness regime (pictured in December 2019)