Davina McCall reveals she’s still taking HRT – eight years after starting the perimenopause

Davina McCall has revealed that she is still taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) – eight years after she started experiencing symptoms of the perimenopause.

The TV presenter started the perimenopause when she was 44, and admitted she thought she had ‘lost the plot’ so would happily stay on HRT 'until she is 80'.

‘My keys were in the fridge, my phone was in the bin. It was like somebody had laid a blanket over my brain,’ the 52-year-old told Sunday Mirror's Notebook magazine.

‘I was finding it really hard to read autocues and I thought, “I’m going to lose my job if I don’t get my sh*t together.”

Davina McCall eventually sought help from a gynaecologist who put her on HRT, which she says helped her to sleep through the night for the first time in years.

‘Literally the first time I put the little magic sticker on. I woke up the next day and thought, “Oh my god, I slept through the night.” I hadn’t slept through the night for years, I’d been lying on a towel because the sheets were so wet. I just felt back to me again. It was the most miraculous turnaround.’

She added, ‘I went from feeling absolutely desperate to really amazing overnight. But it has to be a personal choice. I thought I was going to be that person who does it all naturally.

‘I only take headache pills if absolutely necessary. I don’t take any mood-altering substances. I had all my babies at home with no pain relief. But Jesus, give me the HRT! It was a game-changer and it really helped me.’

In fact, Davina McCall is so happy on the treatment, which relieves symptoms of the menopause such as: hot flushes, night sweats and mood swings, that she recently asked her doctor if she could stay on it until she is 80.

‘He just said, “Let’s take it year by year.” But at the moment I still feel amazing. That’s not to say that sometimes I don’t look in the mirror and think, “Oh god, what’s happened to my face?” But it’s so fleeting.’