Although Davina McCall is one of TV’s most famous faces, the star tried out several different careers before becoming a household name for her presenting.
The star, 56, has had an amazing rise to fame and has hosted a range of shows from Big Brother to My Mum, Your Dad.
But before the presenter shot to stardom, she had a troubled childhood and has previously spoken candidly about her struggles as a teenager.
Although Davina McCall, 56, may be on of TV’s most famous faces now, the star tried out several different careers before becoming a household name for her presenting.
The star has had an amazing rise to fame and has hosted a range of shows from Big Brother to My Mum, Your Dad (pictured at the series three final of Big Brother in 2002)
Early Years
Davina was born in London in 1967 to English graphic designer Andrew McCall and his French wife, glamorous socialite, Florence Kock but when she was three, her parents went through a bitter split.
The star was sent to live with her grandparents in Surrey before she moved in with her father in her teens.
Davina had a difficult relationship with her ‘wild child’ mother and would often only see her during holidays, travelling to France to spend weeks at a time with the ‘chaotic’ socialite.
Davina had a difficult relationship with her ‘wild child’ mother and would often only see her during holidays (pictured: Davina’s mother Florence)
Following her parents’ divorce, a young Davina was sent to live with her grandparents in Surrey (Davina McCall pictured with her grandfather as a kid)
The star has often discussed her childhood and revealed that she thinks her absentee mother, who died in 2008, ‘shouldn’t have had kids’ after revealing that Florence encouraged Davina to take drugs and drink with her on more than one occasion.
Before Davina shot to stardom
Despite the star’s difficult upbringing, Davina had dreams of the stage and before becoming well known for a stint on MTV, she had a stab at a career in music.
The Masked Singer UK judge had hopes of entering the music business and while at school performed as the lead singer in a band called Lazy Bear.
But, by the 19, Davina had already split from her band mates and started to pursue a solo career as a classical artist.
But after a few failed attempts to break into the music scene, Davina gave up her performing dreams and took a job as a booking agent at Models 1 on the men’s desk.
After her appearance as a backing dancer, Davina’s career went from strength to strength and she was quickly snapped up to appear as a presenter on Ray Coke’s Most Wanted on MTV Europe (pictured)
After her stint in the world of fashion, the presenter then went on to run a restaurant for two years before packing her bags and moving to Paris.
While living in the city of lights, Davina worked as a cabaret performer in a Moulin-Rouge-style club and continued in the nightclub business back in London.
After moving back to her home city, Davina worked as a club hostess before being snapped up to appear as a dancer in a music video for none other than pop legend Kylie Minogue for her 1991 single Word Is Out.
After her appearance as a backing dancer, Davina’s career went from strength to strength and she was quickly snapped up to appear as a presenter on Ray Coke’s Most Wanted on MTV Europe.
After her success on MTV, the star went on to front Hitlist UK and just a year later, presented late night game show, God’s Gift on ITV.
Big Brother
After a successful run of presenting gigs, Davina was chosen to host the first ever season of Big Brother on Channel 4 in 2000.
During her time on the show, Davina’s star power continued to rise and by 2008 she was reportedly making £85,000 per episode according to The Express.
After a decade hosting the well-known reality show, Davina stepped down in 2010 after the 11th series when the show was axed and did not return it was subsequently snapped up by Channel 5 and then ITV.
After a successful run of presenting gigs, the Londoner was chosen to host the first ever season of Big Brother on Channel 4 in 2000 (pictured with Kate Lawler in 2002)
Davina hosted the show for ten years, stepping down after it’s 11th series when Channel 4 axed the reality show (pictured with Craig Phillips at the finale of the first ever series in 2000)
Post Big Brother
After her Big Brother triumph, Davina started hosting ITV’s talent show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002.
Unlike Popstars, which only produced one major band, The Rivals spin off helped launch the careers of Girls Aloud and One True Voice.
Girls Aloud went on to reach number one on the singles chart during Christmas 2002.
Davina also hosted several quiz shows including The Million Pound Drop which ran from 2010 to 2012 and was one of the first to use social media to find contestants.
Davina also hosted several quiz shows including The Million Pound Drop which ran from 2010 to 2012 and was one of the first to use social media to find contestants (pictured)
Eventually, the show went from a million pound prize to £100,000 and Davina continued to host until 2019.
After trying her hand at quiz shows, the star presenter turned her attention to some more heartwarming content and started hosting Long Lost Family.
Davina co-presented the show from 2011 with Nicky Campbell and helped to re-unite families who were searching for each other.
The show was so popular that it won a Bafta for Best Features Programme in 2014 and 2021.
Davina has also tried her hand at judging and using her musical background stepped behind the judged panel for The Masked Singer which she has been working on since 2020.
My Mum, Your Dad
But Davina’s latest project is brand new dating show My Mum, Your Dad which sees a group of children trying to find love for their parents and has proved so heartwarming that is has returned for a second series with the star once again at the helm.
But Davina’s latest project is brand new dating show My Mum, Your Dad which sees a group of children trying to find love for their parents
Family Life
And while the star’s career has been going from strength to strength, she’s also been juggling raising three children.
Davina has two girls, Holly, 23, Tilly, 21, and a son, Chester who was born in 2006.
While the presenter has tried to ensure her private life remains out of the spotlight, she has had a heartbreakingdivorce from her ex-husband Matthew Robertson.
Davina’s former partner, fellow TV presenter Matthew, charmed the star after meeting her on Sam’s Games.
The comedy show tracked the lives of four friends who rented flats in London and starred Davina as Sam and Matthew as a love interest who owned a cafe.
Davina split from her ex-husband Matthew Robertson in 2017 after 17 years of marriage (Pictured in May 2013)
Davina been dating celebrity hairdresser Michael, 49, for five years and though the pair are blissfully happy, they have no plans to walk down the aisle together
The former Big Brother star opened up on the future of their relationship, revealing that they don’t feel the need to make things official as they are both ‘happy’ as they are .
The pair were married in 2000 at a glamorous ceremony at Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire.
Despite renewing their vows in 2015, the couple parted ways after 17 years of marriage and remained focused on bringing up their children.
Since her split, Davina been dating celebrity hairdresser Michael, 49, for five years and though the pair are blissfully happy, they have no plans to walk down the aisle together.
In a new interview, the former Big Brother star opened up on the future of their relationship, revealing that they don’t feel the need to make things official as they are both ‘happy’ as they are.
With the pair having both been married before, Davina explained that they didn’t need to ‘rock the boat’ by tying the knot, insisting that for now, marriage is ‘off the table’.
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