Davina McCall describes memory problems after brain surgery

Davina McCall says she experienced severe memory problems for months after surgery to remove a benign brain tumour, describing the effects as feeling like “advanced Alzheimer’s.” She was recounting her recovery in an interview with Paloma Faith on the Mad, Sad, Bad podcast. Her comparison was an account of how the symptoms felt, not a report that she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. McCall said she did not realise she had undergone surgery when she woke afterward and could not remember hospital staff or their names. She also described forgetting visits from her partner, Michael Douglas, even when he had spent hours with her. The memory problems affected her ability to follow films and books: she said she could not watch a film for six months because she forgot what had happened shortly before. The operation took place in November 2024 to remove a benign 14mm colloid cyst. McCall said the cyst had been found during a health check connected with her menopause advocacy work. The reports do not establish a clinical explanation for the memory problems she described. McCall said October 2025 was the first time she woke up remembering what she had done the previous day.