Joe Harker
Davina McCall has spoken about her upbringing and revealed that she took cocaine with her mum when she was 15 years old.
The presenter made the revelation on Steven Bartlett's podcast, Diary of a CEO, as she was asked about her upbringing and spoke candidly.
The first question she faced on the podcast was to recall her first defining moment, with the TV presenter immediately knowing it was 'the moment I realised my mum wasn't coming back to pick me up'.
Davina recounted that her mum had told her she was 'going on holiday' while she stayed with her grandma, but in reality her mum had split up with her dad and returned to France while her grandma and dad had been given custody of her.
The presenter said she was 'not sure' her mother fought for custody of her, and revealed it gave her a 'fear of abandonment' which caused her to make some 'really stupid decisions all through my teenage years'.
Advert
The presenter said she would then go on to visit her mum during the holidays and felt like she'd entered a different world, remembering that she did drugs with her mother during her teenage years.
She said: "When I say I'm half nun, half wild child it's because of that life that I've had.
"Drugs at 12 with my mum, smoking weed at 12, coke at 15, 14 even. I did coke with my mum at 15, I did it with my sister at 14."
"I'd get back to the UK and it would be back into your second hand clothes and sort of safe small life. Simple, my life was very simple."
She explained that she came to believe that 'my life in Paris and my life in the UK must never know about each other', otherwise her family wouldn't let her go and visit her mum again and she still wanted to.
Davina said she was always wanting her mother to 'pull some mummy business out of the bag' during the time they spent together.
The presenter said her sister Caroline was her 'lifeline' during those times, explaining that she did like going to visit her mum even if it ended up being a 'crazy' experience as she would 'dine out' on the affection she got while over there.
Later on in the podcast Davina explained that she was able to forgive her mum and patch things up with her after laying down an ultimatum for her to sober up, saying she couldn't see her until she sought help.
The two were ultimately able to repair their relationship to the point that Davina's mother came to her wedding, though things became difficult again after her mum sold a story to the papers about the two of them.
Davina finished by saying that after her mother died it 'freed me up to remember funny times' they'd had together, not just the most difficult moments, but said she didn't regret not going to her funeral.
If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can talk to FRANK. You can call 0300 123 6600, text 82111 or contact through their website 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, or livechat from 2pm-6pm any day of the week