BOUNCING BACK 'I WANTED CHRISTMAS DAY TO DISAPPEAR'

PRESENTER DAVINA MCCALL ON OVERCOMING HER TOUGH PAST AND SAYING "SOD IT" TO BODY INSECURITIES

You’d be hard pushed to find a better poster girl for party season than Davina McCall. The TV presenter, who fronts JD Williams’ Christmas campaign alongside her close friend Amanda Holden, is reclaiming her social life after the menopause and demonstrates some serious stamina – boasting regular 2am finishes and three nights out on the trot.

“My youngest is 16 and a lot more independent,” says Davina, Zooming in from her new Kent home, which she shares with hairdresser boyfriend Michael Douglas and her children Holly, 21, Tilly, 19, and Chester, 16. “He needs me less so I can go out and say I’ll be back at 2am and he’ll be fine. If I’m not back at all, even better – he’ll get some mates round. There’s a lot less weight on my shoulders.

“Sorry to bang on about menopause, but now I’ve got my hormones in check I’ve found a balance and I feel good again. Obviously, I don’t drink, which is the biggest blessing because it means I don’t get hangovers. It’s like I’ve been given a second chance at enjoying a nightlife. I put two or three nights in a row in. I never used to be able to do that as I always used to feel guilty as I wanted to be at home with the children. I often want to say to women my age, ‘Don’t worry too much – there will come a time when you feel freer again and you can reclaim a life.’”

In many ways, the menopause has been a sign of rebirth for Davina, who previously recalled how suffering with symptoms, including severe night sweats and poor vision, gave her flashbacks to her days of drug dependency in her twenties.