Davina McCall says memory loss after brain surgery was like 'advanced Alzheimer's'

TV presenter Davina McCall has said she experienced symptoms similar to "advanced Alzheimer's" following brain surgery to remove a benign tumour in 2024. Speaking on Paloma Faith's podcast 'Mad, Sad and Bad', the 58-year-old described suffering from severe memory loss while recovering from the operation.

She told the singer that after coming out of surgery, she did not know she had had an operation and could not remember a regular staff member's name when asked daily. McCall said her partner Michael would visit for two hours, leave to use the restroom, and return to find she had forgotten he had been there.

She could not watch a movie or read a book for six months because she could not recall what had happened minutes earlier. A year after the surgery, she woke up able to remember the previous day for the first time.

McCall underwent a craniotomy in November 2024 after a colloid cyst was discovered during a health check-up related to her menopause advocacy work. She also revealed in November 2025 that she had undergone breast cancer surgery. McCall called 2025 the "hardest year" for her and her partner.

She credited singing lessons with ultimately healing her. In April 2025, she was told by doctors that her tumour was "not coming back".