Davina McCall is one of the most popular presenters on TV, but her personal life has been filled with heartache.
The star of Language of Love, which airs tonight on Channel 4, struggled for years to be closer to her mother.
However, sadly Davina never got her wish.
Davina previously said her mother, Florence Koch, was an alcoholic who left when she was three.
As a result, Davina lived with her paternal grandparents until she was 13, before moving in with her father.
TV’s Davina McCall on her personal heartache
Davina made multiple attempts at building a bond with her mum. However, Florence wasn’t interested in cultivating a relationship.
“All I ever wanted from my mum was to be held tight in a protective cuddle,” she told The Telegraph in 2014.
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“To get out of the bath and be wrapped up in a towel, in her arms. That’s why it takes me so long to put my kids to bed every night; I need to hold them.”
Davina’s mum passed away in 2008 in South Africa. The ITV star didn’t attend her funeral.
The Masked Singer judge confessed that news of her passing almost came as a relief following years of turmoil.
“I never doubted for a moment that she loved me,” shared Davina.
“It was almost a relief when she was gone and I could stop asking her to be something that she just couldn’t be. Motherhood is about being selfless, to some degree, and she just needed to be the centre of attention.”
What else did Davina say?
Davina previously recalled a shocking moment when her mother left her alone in a nightclub as a young child.
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“She left me in a nightclub on my own, looking like a lamb dressed as mutton – young, trying to look old,” she said in an episode of Who Do You Think You Are?.
“She was unbelievably exciting to be around – if you were not her child. Obviously, she drank a lot, and from a really early age – a bit too young.”
“I know she smoked magic cigarettes,” added the star. “She called them magic cigarettes but I kind of knew what they were from about eight. Just not appropriate behaviour.”
Davina McCall’s Language of Love airs on Channel 4, tonight, at 10pm.
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