Davina McCall’s Heroin Story: A Testament to the Strength of the Human Spirit

Around the turn of the Millennium, Davina McCall was one of the biggest names on British television. Big Brother was the hottest show every summer, and millions tuned in every Friday to watch Davina announce the latest eviction from the house and interview the crestfallen interviewee. She was to television what Oasis and the Spice Girls were to music and was reportedly earning £85,000 per episode by series 9. What most people didn’t realise at the time, however, was that this success came after overcoming years of drug and alcohol abuse and heroin addiction.

To understand how she found herself in that life-changing situation and the incredible steps she took to break free from addiction, this is Davina McCall’s heroin story.

Davina McCall's Heroin Story- person reaching for heroin syringe

Davina’s early life

Addiction can often be traced back to childhood experiences. Trauma, a family history of addiction or mental health issues and early exposure to addictive substances and behaviours can all contribute to the development of substance abuse disorders and addictions. In Davina’s case, she had a combination of all three.

Born to a French mother and English father, Davina spent most of her childhood living with her paternal grandparents after the breakup of her parents’ relationship. At four years old, her mother told her she was going on a two-week holiday but never came back, which she explains on the Diary of a CEO podcast had a hugely traumatic impact:

“I grew up thinking that my mum had left me and had never come back…and I was left feeling guilty that my granny was looking after me and she didn’t want me in some way.”

She describes this as a “defining moment” that “set up a chain of events, a fear of abandonment that made me make some really stupid decisions all through my teenage years into my twenties.”

Davina describes her father as probably a “sex addict“, and her mother as a “wild child” who once drove a car through a cricket match while intoxicated, and their short-lived but intense relationship was incredibly confusing for the young Davina. She explains how when she would visit her mother in France, her mother would sometimes go out naked except for a trench coat and flash people on the street.

She started smoking cannabis with her mother at the age of twelve and would then return to her grandparents in the UK, where her grandmother would attempt to “reground” her with her normal routine and “safe, small life”. As a result, Davina describes her childhood self as a “half-wild child, half nun,” and she hid the details of her life in Paris from her family in the UK because she didn’t want her trips to visit her mother and older sister to stop.

Davina McCall's Heroin Story - Person lighting cannabis

The spiral to addiction

Davina first took cocaine at 14 with her older sister and at 15 with her mother. Along with alcohol, she began to use cocaine regularly, explaining:

“I couldn’t take cocaine normally either; I couldn’t just take it for four hours and then go to bed. I had to take it for 24 hours; I was an animal.”

On This Morning in 2017, Davina explained that she was “trying to fill a hole, a void” through substance use, which is something we see a lot at UKAT. People start using drugs and alcohol for a short-lived sense of satisfaction or to escape from their negative thoughts or life situations. However, as with Davina, these positive effects do not last, merely papering over the cracks and making the underlying issues worse.

Davina first used heroin at age 15, an experience she described as “like coming home.” She explained how, at the time, heroin felt like it was helping her cope with her everyday life:

“When you are on it, nothing else matters, so you don’t care about meeting someone on time or picking up your kids from school.”

However, the reality was that heroin was destroying her relationships. Davina explained that she was “so full of self-loathing” but that:

“Heroin became my best friend. It’s like the biggest, warmest, softest cuddle.”

Davina McCall's Heroin Story -Heroin Syringe

Intervention and recovery

Addiction is an incredibly powerful illness that thrives when it is able to isolate you from your loved ones because recovery can be so difficult on your own. Deception is a common character trait in those with addiction disorders, and Davina explains how she thought she was fooling everybody about the extent of her heroin use, a skill she developed when hiding her life in Paris from her family in the UK.

Fortunately for Davina, she had great people around her, and one day, her best friend told her that she was taking her to a Santana concert. Davina got in her car only to find that there was no concert and that Sarah knew about her heroin addiction:

“I had just come off the back of a 24-hour cocaine bender, which is what made me realise heroin wasn’t my problem; all drugs were my problem.”

Davina reacted angrily to Sarah and went back to her father and stepmother’s home, where she was staying on a camp bed because she had spent all her money on drugs. An hour later, she had a moment of clarity and reached out to a friend in recovery who invited her to come to a Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meeting.

Davina began attending regular therapy and NA meetings, which she credits with saving her life and the later success she achieved.

“NA taught me how to live and how to change and how to heal myself; I owe NA my life, literally. But it also gave me my career.”

After overcoming her addiction, she went for an interview at MTV and was given a job that she had been previously turned down for due to her drug use and behaviour. This kickstarted her meteoric rise to the top of the entertainment industry where, despite being surrounded by drugs, alcohol and other celebrities with addiction issues, Davina never looked back.

Davina McCall's Heroin Story - Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meeting

Lessons to be learned

Davina’s story is an incredible testament to the strength of the human spirit that can serve as both inspiration and proof that recovery from heroin addiction is possible and that a life of success and happiness is waiting on the other side. In many ways, Davina’s addiction and recovery journey is typical of the people that heroin rehab centres like UKAT see every day: early exposure to addictive substances, a traumatic childhood and the use of substances as a way to escape.

Most importantly, perhaps, the power of loved ones to break through the lies and deception of addiction has been shown again and again to be one of the most effective catalysts for recovery. While it is never easy, if you are struggling with addiction, the best thing you can do is to reach out for help. Partners, parents, friends and children, alongside professional organisations like NA and UKAT, can all provide the support and guidance you need to overcome addiction and start a brand new life.

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