Davina McCall breaks down in tears live on-air after emotional update from son
Davina McCall became tearful during her Heart Radio Breakfast show debut when her son Chester sent her an emotional surprise message from Vietnam.
Davina McCall was left tearful while co-hosting Heart FM this week following an unexpected on-air moment. The 58-year-old presenter, who is currently standing in for Amanda Holden alongside co-host Jamie Theakston, experienced an emotional surprise shortly after going live.
The touching moment occurred when Jamie arranged for a message from her son Chester, who is presently travelling in Vietnam. After welcoming Davina back to the show, he mentioned it was “good to have her” in the studio. Reminding listeners they could send in messages, he then asked her to read one that appeared on her screen.
“Read it out,” he said, to which Davina replied: “Oh no,” clearly taken aback by what she was seeing. She started: “‘Hi mum,’” before stopping, visibly moved, and turning to her co-presenter in astonishment.
“It’s Chester and Lara [his partner],” she said through tears. “It’s my son.” Encouraged by Jamie to carry on, she read: “‘We’re sending love and tuning in’.
“No, but wait, do you know where he is? He’s in Vietnam,” she added, still emotional. Acknowledging her tearful reaction, Jamie told listeners: “Bless him. Uh oh, I’ve done it, I’ve set her off already. I promised they’ll be no tears today and yet look at that, it’s 7:03am and she’s crying already.”
As Davina wiped away her tears, Jamie briefly continued by reading out competition terms and conditions, before she reassured listeners: “Okay, I’m back in the room.
“Well done Chester by the way,” he added. “Great job on mum,” to which Davina replied: “I love you,” still visibly moved.
Davina shares three children with her ex-husband Matthew Robertson – Chester, 19, Holly, 24, and Tilly, 22. The former couple were married for 17 years before announcing their separation in 2017.
She has since found love again with her hairdresser Michael Douglas, whom she married last year.
Discussing their wedding on an episode of their podcast Making The Cut, she said: “Best day of my life. I’ve loved giving birth to my kids, but this was different. This was a different thing. A beautiful, very, very, small and intimate event. Very private.”
In response, her spouse added: “It was a brilliant day, wasn’t it? Pretty private. We managed to keep it quite private.”
Davina has also credited her partner with supporting her through two recent health challenges – a benign brain tumour and breast cancer.
Reflecting on how the experience has altered her perspective, she said: “Do you know what I really want to do? I want to destress my life and I want to detoxify my life. I mean I was already a clean eater, I’m nauseatingly clean, I exercise, I do all of those things but I want to get negativity out of my life, so I’ve changed my algorithm on my phone.”
To achieve this, Davina explained that she removed any accounts that made her feel sad or angry, choosing instead more uplifting content such as “puppies and babies “. She further commented on her current health status: “I had a check yesterday, I also get scaniety [anxiety over scans] and they were also very pleased to tell me that there was nothing there.”
