Kent-based TV presenter Davina McCall is “utterly exhausted” but recovering in hospital after undergoing brain surgery for a “very rare” tumour.

The 57-year-old, who lives in Tunbridge Wells, took to Instagram to share the news of her procedure with her 1.8 million followers earlier today (November 15).

Davina, who has hosted shows such as Big Brother, explained she has a rare colloid cyst which only affects three in every one million people. She received her diagnosis by chance after booking for a health scan.

Addressing her fans, she said: “I was offered a health scan which I thought I was going to ace but it turned out I had benign brain tumour which is very rare, three in a million.

“I slightly put my head in the sand for a while, I saw a few neurosurgeons, had quite a lot of opinions and realised I needed to take it out.

“It's quite big, it's 14mm wide and it needs to come out because if it grows it would be bad. I'm having it removed. Say a prayer for me. I'm in good spirits.”

A colloid cyst is a slow-growing tumour typically found near the centre of the brain. The benign growth contains gelatinous material.

Most patients present with headaches, although other symptoms including vertigo, memory problems and double vision can occur.

The mum-of-three told how she wasn’t facing any immediate risk but doctors had raised concerns about if the tumour began to grow.

In a statement posted on her Instagram, her partner Michael Douglas shared an update on her condition this evening.

It read: “Hey all. Davina is out of surgery and according to the surgeon it was textbook”

“She’s currently recovering in ICU as a precuation, as you can imagine she’s utterly exhausted.

“Thanks so much for all the love from everyone on here… it’s powerful stuff, we are super grateful. Michael xx.”

The TV host and author is expected to stay in hospital for just over a week before returning home.

Last year, she became an MBE in the King’s birthday honours for services to broadcasting, and in 2022 released the book Menopausing: The Positive Roadmap To Your Second Spring, with the aim of ending “the shame and horrific misinformation surrounding menopause”.

That same year, she fronted the Channel 4 documentary Davina McCall: Sex, Mind And The Menopause, and told the BBC that the perimenopausal symptoms caused her difficulties multi-tasking and she considered that she had a brain tumour or Alzheimer’s disease at the time, as her father Andrew suffers from the latter condition.

The TV star, who started going through perimenopause at 44, also said the symptoms reminded her of when she was a drug addict in her 20s due to waking up soaked in sweat.

She has also spoken about taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to alleviate some of the symptoms, previously telling ITV’s Loose Women: “The health benefits for me way outweighed the negatives. I’ve got dementia running in my family, it massively reduces that, reduces diabetes and it reduces the risk of heart disease by 50%.”

Earlier this year, the presenter was honoured with the special recognition award at the National Television Awards for her broadcasting career and received an honorary degree from Newcastle University for championing women’s health.

McCall has also raised money for Cancer Research UK by running for Race For Life in honour of her late sister.

Her sister Caroline Baday died from lung cancer in 2012 at the age of 50.

McCall made her name on Big Brother between 2000 and 2010 during its Channel 4 run, and has gone on to co-present BBC Comic Relief and Sport Relief, Channel 4’s Stand Up To Cancer, The Million Pound Drop and Long Lost Family, and voiced a robot version of herself in Doctor Who.

The TV star also regularly posts about exercising and health products and has released numerous fitness DVDs.