BGF

BIG GAY FOLLOWING

WORDS: TIM HEAP PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPH: ELISABETH HOFF

IF YOU’RE W ONDERING whether Davina McCall’s on-screen persona is just an act, it isn’t: she’s just as much of a hoot when the cameras aren’t rolling. Of course, it’s not a surprise, really. Since starting out on MTV Europe 25 years ago, she’s charmed viewers with her sense of fun, her approachability and the way she interacts with people, whether they are celebs or not

If that was at all inauthentic, we’d have heard about it by now.

Born in Wimbledon, Davina’s formative years were largely spent living with her grandparents in Surrey after her English father and French mother separated. Often described in her own words as a wild child, she took after her party-loving mother, smoking, drinking, and tearing up the capital’s nightlife, as a teen. Over time, she developed a habit for cocaine and heroin, until, aged 25, she sobered up and started making her name as a TV presenter.

In 2000, Davina bagged her careerdefining gig as the presenter of Big Brother, a show which heralded a new age of TV and consistently pulled in more than 4.5m viewers per episode for the first seven season. Since then, she’s fronted prime-time game shows and, now aged 49, is returning with a new series of Long Lost Family.

Davina McCall

FROM PARTYING IN GAY CLUBS TO BROADENING LGBT+ REPRESENTATION ON OUR TV SCREENS, DAVINA MCCALL IS THE BFF WE ALL WISH WE HAD. THIS SUMMER, SHE’S BACK REUNITING ESTRANGED RELATIVES FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE ON ITV’S BAFTA-WINNING LONG LOST FAMILY

PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPH: LICKERISH

The new series of Long Lost Family starts towards the end of July. Have you found some good stories?

We keep thinking, “How many more amazing stories can there be?” But there are endless amazing stories to tell. We just did one where it took us two years to find someone. When our researchers feel as if they might be on to a lead but the normal channels have dried up, they will go knocking on doors at the last known address. They go above and beyond.