Davina McCall has delivered a candid “dressing down” to a BBC star, urging her friend to rethink how she approaches confidence and self-image.
Davina’s Heartfelt Advice
The 58-year-old TV favourite recently shared some heartfelt advice with close friend Trinny Woodall, telling the former What Not To Wear presenter: “You owe it to yourself to wake up every morning and put on the ‘boss’ underwear.”
Davina’s comments came during an online video in which Trinny, 62, opened up about her own struggles with confidence following her split from art collector Charles Saatchi in 2023.
Trinny’s Underwear Revelation
Posting to Facebook, Trinny showed Davina a drawer full of plain grey underwear and joked: “This is my underwear drawer – you can tell I haven't had a relationship for three years.”
But Davina’s encouragement appeared to strike a chord with her longtime friend, who later admitted the conversation had completely shifted her perspective.
Reflecting on the exchange, Trinny said many women would likely relate to prioritising comfort over style. “How many of you see your friends in sexy underwear but think, ‘not for me’...?” she said. “I'm sure many of you will relate when I say I’d rather be comfortable than feel like I have a cheese grater up my bottom.”
A Shift in Perspective
However, she explained that Davina’s recent health battles had inspired her to rethink things. “I have to say that a recent catch-up with Davina McCall has really shifted my perspective,” Trinny said. “After navigating some life-threatening challenges, Davina has reached a place where she actively prioritises her identity as a sensual woman, and she reminded me that feeling fabulous in one’s knickers is a private joy that we can do entirely for ourselves.”
She added: “It made me realise that I don’t embrace the softer, feminine side of myself as much as I perhaps ought to… Time to push the boat out a little bit.”
The candid chat appears to have had an immediate impact, with Trinny later posing online in black lingerie after what Daily Mail columnist Richard Eden described as a “dressing-down” from her famous pal.
Davina’s Health Journey
Davina recently spoke candidly about the health challenges that have reshaped her life in recent years, revealing the emotional toll of multiple serious diagnoses.
The television presenter was first diagnosed with a benign brain tumour, which was surgically removed, before later receiving treatment for breast cancer. The breast cancer diagnosis came roughly a year after her brain surgery.
Reflecting on her experiences during an appearance on Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden in March, Davina described the period as profoundly difficult, saying she and Jamie had “been on quite a journey”.
She also recalled the emotional weight of an earlier moment in her friendship with Jamie, explaining: "We've been on quite a journey you and me, when I, when I got you in that grip where it hurt your throat and you found out it was cancer, I carried that burden where I thought I'd hurt you for quite a long time."
Jamie Theakston, who announced last year that he was “cancer-free” following treatment for laryngeal cancer, reassured her, responding: "No! As I always said, if you hadn't have done that, I never would have known."
A Second Diagnosis
Davina went on to describe how quickly her own situation escalated after she had begun to recover from her earlier illness. She explained that almost exactly two years after discovering the brain tumour, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
She said: "It was just quite a difficult year and in October interestingly two years almost to the month where I found out I had a brain tumour, I got breast cancer, and it felt like being punched in the face by the universe, I just thought what, I was just about beginning to feel like myself again, and I had a mammogram in the August and this was the October, and I found a lump.
"So just don’t think, 'Oh I had a mammogram recently, it can’t be that'. It could be. So just check, if you’ve got something, go get it looked at. It takes seconds."
