Davina: “I’ll still be wearing a bikini at 80 – possibly with fake boobs!”
Davina Mccall talks to Closer about her diet tricks, being shamed on social media and why she could never be addicted to exercise
There’s no one better to motivate couch potatoes into action this January than super-fit Davina Mccall.
Turning up to our interview in black skinny jeans, a fitted sweater and chic ankle boots, the 51 yearold mum-of-three looks as healthy and toned as a woman half her age.
“I’m feeling really good at the moment,” she smiles. “I’ve got a busy work year ahead, but I’m ready for it, and exercise is one of the things that will help to keep me focused.”
The Long Lost Family presenter has just released her 15th fitness DVD, Davina: Power Box And Tone, and says she aims to work out three to four times a week, doing a mixture of strength and cardio.
And the star, who split from the father of her three children and husband of 17 years, Matthew Robertson, last year, admits that working out is as much about her mental wellbeing as it is her physical health.
STRESS-BUSTING
She says, “I absolutely love the new DVD, because I love boxing. It’s such a great stress-buster, and a brilliant release. Exercise is definitely something I’ve used throughout my life to help me get through difficult times. Hands down, working out is the thing that will make me feel better than anything and have the greatest effect on my mood. I will immediately feel better after exercise, and it’s never been any other way.
“People have said in the past that I’m addicted to exercise, but the chance would be a fine thing!” she laughs. “I do not have the time. I do what I need to, to stay in shape, but that doesn’t involve working out for hours every single day.”
Davina was given a tough time on social media last year, when people accused her of being too slender and muscular. “You know, everyone is entitled to their opinion,” she shrugs. “I haven’t ever really felt discriminated against, but I do think that body image is a tricky thing. Any kind of body shaming is a really dangerous thing to do, because it makes people feel really, really terrible about themselves.
“Thankfully, I didn’t, and I don’t feel like I’m under attack. Some people aren’t going to like what I do at all, because they don’t like me. I know that, to some people, I am phenomenally annoying. That’s life, isn’t it?”
The TV presenter, who is mum to Holly, 17, Tilly, 15, and Chester, 12, doesn’t own a set of scales but estimates that she is currently around 9½st – a healthy weight for her 5ft 7 frame. “I don’t weigh myself,” she says. “All I know is that I’m happy where I’m at.”
HANGING UP THE LYCRA
When it comes to her diet, Davina eats three sensible meals a day, and steadfastly refuses to obsessively watch what she eats. “I never calorie count, but I am sensible,” she adds. “If I’ve had a big lunch, I’ll think to myself, ‘I’ll go lighter tonight’.
“My thing is that I don’t need to consume the same number of calories that I did in my 20s to keep me going. I think, as you get older, you just generally become more sedentary, and you don’t need the same amount you used to have.”
And Davina admits her diet is pretty healthy. “I’m partial to a Warburtons crumpet for breakfast, with a little bit of honey or Marmite. If I’m at home, I’ll have avocado and scrambled egg on toast for lunch, with a green salad. Generally, in the evening it will be something a bit bigger, and based around chicken or fish. I love my one-pot dishes.”
While Davina can still confidently rock leggings and a crop top, can she ever see herself hanging up her Lycra?
“No!” she laughs. “I will definitely be