A turbulent childhood meant that Big Brother presenter Davina McCall was once far from 100 per cent convinced about becoming a mother herself. The arrival of 8lb 12oz Holly Willow, however, seems to have dispersed any fears the 33-year-old former wild child may have had.
Expressing her joy over the birth of her first child, Davina, who is married to Pet Rescue presenter Matthew Robertson, 31, said: “It was the best experience of my life – well, apart from making her.”
She gave birth to their daughter at home in West London as planned. “We’re all doing brilliantly,” said the radiant TV star, who also fronted Don’t Try This At Home, as she spoke of Saturday evening’s “totally natural birth”. She and Matthew, who Davina met while they were both walking their dogs in a West London park, had been trying for a baby since they tied the knot last summer.
When she was a child, Davina’s parents split up and her mother, a heavy drinker, returned to her native France leaving her young daughter in the care of her paternal grandparents. From then on she saw her mother only occasionally during the holidays.
“My mother was a wild Sixties person. I don’t think she could cope with the responsibility of a child,” she once said. “I’m very scared I may feel the same way my mother did about having a child.”
Growing into a disturbed teenager who desperately sought attention, Davina was an alcoholic and a drug addict by the time she was 18. It wasn’t until her first marriage to actor Andrew Legget failed that she finally overcame her childhood demons through counselling.
She now plans on taking a few months off to be with Holly Willow, although she will continue to appear on UK screens in a new series Closure broadcast on the cable TV channel BBC Choice.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
