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Loukas · 31-05-2009, 12:15 PM

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Many Faces Of
Davina McCall
Confident vamp, worried wife and Mrs Angry – we discover Davina is all of the above

Trussed up in a black rubber bodice, wearing the tiniest of hot pants, Davina McCall is channelling her inner Miss Whiplash.
As she arches a perfectly shaped eyebrow and fixes me with an intense stare, followed by a dirty cackle, she's pure Bond villain.

The Davina show has hit town as she prepares to front the 10th series of Channel 4 reality show Big Brother.

She's clearly enjoying herself as she pouts and poses for the camera, writhing around in her skin-tight rubber outfit. At 41, the mum of three has a body to die for - a wasp waist and endless legs.

But Davina's figure, like her career and her personal life, is down to hard graft. Her body is the result of endless sessions with her personal trainer, which culminated in her top-selling fitness DVDs.

She's a woman determined to be the best mother and wife and to keep her career on track. Which is no mean feat. She admits she relies on therapy to keep her sane, and a 12-step programme keeps her sober.

As a result, she looks and feels great, which isn't something she can always take for granted.

After giving birth to Chester, Davina hated her body"My weight is linked to my self-esteem, and I don't mean with television," she says. "I mean in front of Matthew."

She's talking about her gorgeous TV presenter husband, Matthew Robertson, 40. They've been married for nine years and have three children, Holly, seven, Tilly, five, and Chester, two.

"I feel good about myself at the moment, so I prance around in front of Matthew in my pants," she says. "But when I'm not feeling confident, I feel sensitive about my body. I cover myself up with a dressing gown or towel.

"If I put on weight, it goes straight to my bum and thighs. I get annoyed with myself if I don't fit into my favourite clothes. I think: 'God, I want to be smaller.'"

Right now she is a size 10 on top and size 12 on the bottom. "Before I fell pregnant with Holly I went on The Atkins Diet. I lost a lot of weight quickly. I got down to a size 8 on top, 10 on the bottom. Matthew didn't like it at all because my bottom totally disappeared. He was like: 'No, no, no. We need that bottom back. Can you start eating normally again? Also, your breath stinks!'"

Today, Davina is scoffing a packet of Cadbury's Tasters. "Chocolate's not as bad for you as crisps," she tells herself. If snacking on some chocolate makes her feel naughty, then she's come a long way.

Davina spent six years - from the age of 18 - addicted to heroin and cocaine. She drank too, but has been sober for 17 years and still goes to addiction recovery meetings.

The many faces of Davina McCall
Confident vamp, worried wife and Mrs Angry – we discover Davina is all of the above

By Chrissy Iley Photography by Alistair Morris, 30/05/2009

Trussed up in a black rubber bodice, wearing the tiniest of hot pants, Davina McCall is channelling her inner Miss Whiplash.
As she arches a perfectly shaped eyebrow and fixes me with an intense stare, followed by a dirty cackle, she's pure Bond villain.

The Davina show has hit town as she prepares to front the 10th series of Channel 4 reality show Big Brother.

Davina McCall in the chair

She's clearly enjoying herself as she pouts and poses for the camera, writhing around in her skin-tight rubber outfit. At 41, the mum of three has a body to die for - a wasp waist and endless legs.

But Davina's figure, like her career and her personal life, is down to hard graft. Her body is the result of endless sessions with her personal trainer, which culminated in her top-selling fitness DVDs.

She's a woman determined to be the best mother and wife and to keep her career on track. Which is no mean feat. She admits she relies on therapy to keep her sane, and a 12-step programme keeps her sober.

As a result, she looks and feels great, which isn't something she can always take for granted.

After giving birth to Chester, Davina hated her body"My weight is linked to my self-esteem, and I don't mean with television," she says. "I mean in front of Matthew."

She's talking about her gorgeous TV presenter husband, Matthew Robertson, 40. They've been married for nine years and have three children, Holly, seven, Tilly, five, and Chester, two.

"I feel good about myself at the moment, so I prance around in front of Matthew in my pants," she says. "But when I'm not feeling confident, I feel sensitive about my body. I cover myself up with a dressing gown or towel.

"If I put on weight, it goes straight to my bum and thighs. I get annoyed with myself if I don't fit into my favourite clothes. I think: 'God, I want to be smaller.'"

Right now she is a size 10 on top and size 12 on the bottom. "Before I fell pregnant with Holly I went on The Atkins Diet. I lost a lot of weight quickly. I got down to a size 8 on top, 10 on the bottom. Matthew didn't like it at all because my bottom totally disappeared. He was like: 'No, no, no. We need that bottom back. Can you start eating normally again? Also, your breath stinks!'"

Today, Davina is scoffing a packet of Cadbury's Tasters. "Chocolate's not as bad for you as crisps," she tells herself. If snacking on some chocolate makes her feel naughty, then she's come a long way.

Davina spent six years - from the age of 18 - addicted to heroin and cocaine. She drank too, but has been sober for 17 years and still goes to addiction recovery meetings.

"I still don't drink because that's when my willpower goes, so I think it's better not to tempt fate. The 12-step recovery programme keeps me on the straight and narrow.

"I also went to cognitive behavioural therapy because I wanted to come to terms with my relationship with my mother before she died, so I tried that for a few months."

Much had been made of Davina's relationship with her estranged alcoholic mother, Florence Kock, who abandoned her when she was only three. They had on/off contact over the years, but their relationship was never easy. It foundered completely after Florence went to an AA meeting with Davina, then gave an interview to a newspaper about her daughter.

"That was the worst thing she could do," says Davina. "The trust was gone. When she passed away last year she freed me from needing therapy. When she was alive, a mother was all I wanted. Now that she's gone I can remember that she did try to be a mummy sometimes.

"Two days after she passed away, I went back to the therapist and said that I didn't need to go any more. She said: 'Don't you think you may need to come back in a month? Grief can be tough, you know.' I said I'd be fine, and I was."

Davina was in America when her mother died after contracting pneumonia while suffering from bone cancer. She was 62. But Davina has no regrets that she wasn't at her side. "I said goodbye when I wrote her letters, but I felt she'd already said goodbye to me. But I'm not tortured anymore," she insists.

With her hubby Matthew"I was really angry when she was alive - brimming with anger. And that anger is really subsiding quite dramatically."

Does she think that anger at her mother fuelled her success and gave her something to prove? "No, it wasn't the anger. It was the abandonment." Does she mean she wanted to be loved by the world because maybe that would make her mother accept her? "Yes. Although I realised quite early on that wouldn't work. Fame doesn't fill that hole in your heart. So, I thought: 'S**t, I'm going to have to fill that myself. I'll have to look after myself enough to help me love myself, not get somebody else to love me to make me feel better.'"

But Davina did find someone to love her - in the shape of former Pet Rescue host Matthew. They met while she was walking her dog in London's Hyde Park. It's clear she adores him. "He's so kind, secure and normal, and very funny. I am a complete daddy's girl and he and Dad have a very similar sense of humour - they say you marry your dad - maybe I have!"

She paints a happy picture of life in her £3.2million farmhouse in Sussex, and she realises her fractured relationship with her own mother has driven her to be the best parent she can be. Her face softens as she talks about Holly's singing and dancing, fairy-like Tilly and baby Chester. He's just two, but she's sure he'll be an England rugby star.

Davina's family life hasn't always been hunky-dory. Like many young parents, she and Matthew hit trouble five years ago, after Tilly's birth. Davina was determined to make sure they worked through their problems, so they went to couples' counselling.

It's with refreshing honesty that Davina explains how it helped keep their marriage strong. "We had two young children and we were very, very, very, tired. When you have fatigue you stop feeling sorry for each other. It becomes a 'who's more tired' competition.

"Sometimes you have a couple of s**t months, or even six s**t months. It doesn't mean it isn't going to come back again."

Last month she joked at an awards ceremony that she didn't know why Matthew put up with her, saying: "I don't know why he stays with me. I'm such a t***."

She recoils when reminded of the comment. "Did I say that? Obviously I was only joking!"

But tension flickers across her face at the mention of trouble with Matthew. Does she still have abandonment issues and worry that he might leave her? "For a long time I thought that people who loved me were going to leave me. But I feel better about that now.

"I think the older you get, the psychological issues you had when you were younger disappear. You get more wrinkly and stiffer in the mornings, but you find more peace in yourself, and that makes you a lot happier."

And boy, is Davina happy. She'll soon reprise her ringmaster role on Big Brother and, like a kid at Christmas, she's counting down the sleeps until it starts.

Despite rumours that this series is the last, she insists there is life in the format yet. "Contractually, Channel 4 have asked the production company Endemol to make two more series, this year and next year, and then they will talk about extending. No one really knows what's going to happen, though," she says.

Davina has stuck with Big Brother through thick and thin, including the racism rows and bullying controversies. She says: "I think it's amazing that it brings up issues that reflect Britain today."

But Davina is keen to find other TV roles. Changing her agent twice in a year hints that she's frustrated with her career. The ink is still drying on a contract with James Grant Media, who represent Ant and Dec, and she says that she has another show in pre-production that she can't talk about.

Is it This Morning, after she was reported to be in the running as Fern Britton's replacement? "I'm not after her job," she says cryptically.

For the time being, she's concentrating 100 per cent on Big Brother. But don't be surprised if, just like a Bond villain, she pops up where you least expect it...

DAVINA'S DARK SIDE

Maybe it was the rubber dress or the sinister-looking cat, but something turned the usually-lovely Davina into a bad girl. Here, she confesses her darkest secrets...

Have you ever blamed something bad on someone else? When I was five I pooed in the sea thinking it wouldn't float, but it did and everyone saw it. We were camping with other families, so I said that it was a little boy, and he got blamed for it. So any kids reading this, never poo in the sea - they float.

Have you ever stolen something? When I was nine I was caught stealing a bowl of sweets and the man said he was going to tell my parents. I was so frightened that I never stole again.

When was the last time you went commando? When I used to go clubbing I would wear rubber dresses and I went commando quite a lot to avoid a VPL.

Do you ever tell Matthew fibs? I underplay the cost of shoes. He doesn't know anything about designers, so I can get away with it.

Have you ever had an inappropriate dream about a colleague? Yes, I've had a couple of weird dreams about people I have worked with over the years. It's quite uncomfortable, because often you don't fancy them at all, but then you can't look them in the eye the next day.

What is guaranteed to make you lose your temper? I can't handle somebody being patronising. It's horrific.

When was the last time you swore at someone? Whenever I was last in the car.

If you could cast an evil spell on someone without them knowing, who would it be? Piers Morgan, or another evil talent-show judge. I'd make them be nice about everybody, even the worst act ever.

When do you feel most sexy? When I'm dancing.

Have you ever had a girl crush? I have a lifelong crush on Madonna.

Where is the best place to be naughty? Women's loos are the best place ever and women do unthinkable personal things with women that they have never met. They compare boob sizes, show their pants and tattoos - all of that.

When was the last time you cried? I cried like a baby on the plane going to America watching Bolt.

When did someone last hurt you? That white cat [Bianca the Persian cat in the photo shoot]. It bit me.

Fabulous