Davina McCall's heartache after cruel trolls slammed her as 'gaunt' before brain tumour shock

Davina McCall doesn’t often call out detractors on social media – so it had clearly got too much for the TV presenter and fitness guru earlier this year, when she furiously hit back at cruel trolls, who slammed her about her weight. Evidently upset at the unwarranted comments she received – after she uploaded a seemingly innocent post about a food shop – the star was targeted by nasty trolls, who left comments on the mum-of-three’s Insta on a recent Instagram video post, claiming she looked 'too skinny' and 'gaunt', comments which the My Mum, Your Dad host admitted left her ‘furious’.

According to a source, Davina, as well known for her fitness videos and online workouts as she is for her telly work, was left angry and upset by the trolling - and felt compelled to speak out. They told OK! at the time: "There's a lot of hurt about this - a lot of heartache, as Davina feels she's always been very open about her fitness journey and how 'healthy' she is - so to be slammed for being too ‘skinny’ goes against everything she believes in. But she's concentrating on not letting these comments get to her now, and moving forward."

"Because she’s got so much pride in the work she’s done to get her body and mind fit and well, the trolling was too just much - and she didn’t see why she should be silenced by it."

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They added: "It started to get out of hand, and it’s not okay to criticise someone’s looks like that. Why shouldn’t she speak out? Some people seem to think that if you’re slim, it’s okay to criticise your looks, but it’s not, Davina knows that. She’s been through a lot in her life and worked hard for what she’s achieved, so I think speaking out has probably unburdened her. She just wanted to say enough is enough, a lot of her friends think she was really brave to come out and say it.

The situation blew up earlier this year, well before Davina shockingly revealed she was being operated on for a brain tumour. On Friday, 15 November, Davina revealed she's been taken to hospital for brain surgery. The star underwent an operation to remove a 14mm benign brain tumour, which she discovered during a health scan a few months ago while giving a talk for a menopause company. Davina asked her fans to keep her in their prayers as her boyfriend Michael Douglas takes over her social media during her recovery period.

Taking to Instagram in a video to share her frustration following the online backlash in May, Davina assured her many followers that she was not ‘unhealthy’ - and pleaded with people to think hard before they post horrid comments on social media.

Confessing in the caption of her no-holds-barred post that she would 'probably regret' posting it, Davina shared: "Hi, I just thought I'd quickly do a post about the kind of, uh, I guess it is abuse, that I'm getting about my weight. It's really frustrating and I feel like people post these things and then they have no consequences."

The original video showed Davina giving an insight into her M&S food shop - but sadly, it left certain fans commenting negatively not on her diet, but on her face and neck.

"They can post whatever they like and then be cruel and I just have to, kind of, take it. I'm actually just left sitting feeling furious so I thought I'd offload here. I'm a 5"6 woman who weighs 61 kilos, I don't diet, I exercise, I eat relatively healthy and I enjoy sharing that journey with people. I'm 57 this year and I'm happy with the way I look, I feel absolutely f*****g great. So I just thought I'd post that there."

The Masked Singer judge went on: "I can't really do much about my neck and my face unless I fill it with filler. I don't know what to do about that, my neck is my neck and maybe the light was bad in my last post or something. All you have to do is look at the rest of the posts on my page and see that I'm not unhealthy. But this was horrible.

"So, I'm parking that there and am just saying, maybe think before you post something. Wouldn't it be nicer to say something positive? And if you can't say anything positive then maybe just don't post."

Davina - whose incredibly toned body at age 57 is admired by many - was immediately flooded with support by some famous pals, as she opened up about the ‘abuse’ she’d suffered.

Fellow presenter Emma Willis wrote: "You look absolutely f***ing strong. And great. Use the block button, while former Queen of the Jungle Giovanna Fletcher replied: "You are phenomenal in every way. It’s easy to say ‘ignore the f**kers’ but the truth is we all know how words from others can impact us. Just know that there are so many people out there thankful for your existence and all you’ve brought to their lives!!"

Christine McGuinness’s ex, comedian Paddy McGuinness shared: "Jealousy, resentment or a need to feel superior. Other people’s low self-esteem and social media are never a good mix. Keep that strong chin up D. Love from the North, while BGT judge Amanda Holden simply wrote: "F**k em darling."

And as our source added.: "Davina is really proud of her body, not just of how it looks but how healthy she is, and her relationship with exercise. She’s worked hard to get healthy and fit and also to fight her demons and get through her addictions. She’s spoken very openly about all that she’s overcome, so she’s proud to be where she is."