Davina McCall was 'traumatised and wet herself' when flying unaccompanied aged 3

21 August 2023 , 10:27

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Davina McCall was 'traumatised and wet herself' when flying unaccompanied aged 3

Davina McCall has recalled a traumatic experience from her childhood and opened up once again about her complicated relationship with her late mother.

The former Big Brother presenter shared her heartbreak over the weekend as she remembered flying from England to France alone as a three-year-old and being so scared during the flight she wet herself. She added how her mum Florence Kock would "often forget" to pick her up from the airport.

Davina grew up with her grandparents in Surrey, after her mother left her in the care of her grandmother Pippy McCall. The TV star has previously said Pippy shared custody with her father Andrew McCall. During Davina's early years, Florence went to live in her native France and only saw Davina during school holidays.

Recalling some trips to Paris to see her mother, who passed away in South Africa in 2008, as a young child, mum-of-three Davina, 55, shared how she would often fly as an unaccompanied minor and be "too scared" to ask for help during the "very traumatic" plane journey.

Davina McCall felt 'a sense of relief' when her mother Florence Kock passed away in 2008 (Wall To Wall)

Speaking recently to the Sunday Times travel supplement, Davina recalled: "The first trip I remember was very traumatic. I was three or four and too scared to ask for help. I wet myself on the flight. My mother would often forget to pick me up at the airport and I’d be waiting and waiting before somebody would call to remind her. That was our normal. I would stay with my Spanish grandmother, French businessman grandfather and my big sister, who my mum had when she was 16."

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Davina, who shares three children with ex-husband Matthew Robertson, went on to describe her late mother as "absolutely bonkers, with no boundaries. She recalled how she would often go clubbing with her mum in Paris at the age of 12 and shared how she was allowed to wear high heels and makeup.

Chatting on the Diary of a CEO podcast earlier this year, Davina spoke candidly about her upbringing, saying that she took drugs twice with her late mother - once when she was 12 and the second time taking cocaine at 15. She told entrepreneur Steven Bartlett how she took drugs with her Florence and her older half-sister, Caroline Baday, during her childhood visits to them.

"Drugs at 12 with my mum. Smoking weed at 12. [...] I did coke with my mum at 15. I did it with my sister at 14," Davina recalled on the podcast in January. She added: "Me and my mum only did drugs twice. I mean, I know that's twice times too many in my book, but I don't want to give this impression that she and I were taking tonnes of drugs together cause that would be a false impression".

Davina's dad passed away last year following a battle with Alzheimer's disease (COPYRIGHT UNKNOWN)

Davina didn't attend Florence's funeral when she passed away in 2008, with The Masked Singer judge later saying: "When she died I felt a sense of relief that I could stop swinging from side to side. And I also think, please God, when I die, don’t let it be a relief to anybody."

She added: "I imagined her in the hospital bed, and I imagined these shoots of light going from my palms, all over, across the world, to South Africa, to the hospital where she was at, and going straight into her heart. All I kept saying was: ‘I forgive you. I forgive you. I forgive you’."

Davina sadly suffered heartbreak a few years on from Florence's death, with her maternal half-sister Caroline dying in 2012. Discussing her sibling's death in January, David said losing Caroline remains the "worst thing that ever happened" to her. Speaking on the Diary of a CEO podcast, she went on to issue advice to viewers about dealing with their own loved ones.

The presenter recalled her sister - who had been diagnosed with cancer shortly before her death - having "put a fence" around herself, with Davina having been determined to get even closer to her in the weeks leading up to her death. Davina revealed they ultimately ended up having "the best talks" in those few weeks.

Encouraging listeners to reach out to their loved ones before it's too late, Davina declared: "The best seven weeks of my life with my sister were those last seven weeks of hers'". The TV legend also urged people to do bucket-lists whilst alive, rather than doing it after a terminal diagnosis. And she called on viewers to spend time doing "what really matters" to them now, adding: "Don't wait for somebody to say you've got six weeks to live".

Zoe Delaney