Davina McCall, 58, shared photographs from a trip to Disney World with her two daughters, Holly, 24, and Tilly, 22, telling fans on Instagram on Thursday that the visit had left her feeling "very emotional in a really lovely way."
The British television presenter posted a series of pictures from the Florida resort showing the trio in matching striped outfits. McCall wore pink hot pants with a striped vest trimmed in pink, while Holly and Tilly wore denim shorts with striped T-shirts. Her son, Chester, 19, did not appear in the photos.
McCall listed the rides the family had been on during their first day, including Animal Kingdom, Frozen, Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy. The rides sit within Walt Disney World Resort's four theme parks in Bay Lake, Florida, which together draw millions of visitors from around the world each year.
What Davina McCall said about Disney
Alongside the pictures, McCall wrote: "Day 1. There is something about Disney World, in fact Disney in general that makes me very emotional in a really lovely way... Everyone leaves their worries behind... it all thrills, tears, escapism, joy, laughter... it's everything all at once. We did @waltdisneyworld Animal Kingdom and Epcot today.... #disneyguardiansofthegalaxy ride possibly my favourite EVER."
She went on to describe riding Avatar: Flight of Passage and singing, or as she put it "more like screaming," through Frozen at Epcot. She added that "everyone is LOVELY" before thanking a staff member named Andrew for showing the family around, calling him "BRILLIANT."
Davina McCall's family life
McCall shares Holly, Tilly and Chester with her ex-husband Matthew Robertson, whom she married in 2000. The couple split in November 2017 and finalised their divorce the following year. Before that marriage, McCall was married to actor Andrew Leggett in 1997, though the pair split the same year. She more recently married hairdresser Michael Douglas in December.
McCall built her television career as a presenter, fronting Big Brother for a decade before later hosting programmes including Long Lost Family. Despite that profile, she has generally kept her three children out of the spotlight, making the rare family photos from Disney World notable.
Speaking about her children in January, McCall said they had shaped how she sees the world. "If ever somebody's saying to me, 'I don't know whether to have kids or not,' one of the reasons why I would say have kids is not because of what you can pass on, it's what they make you look at," she said.
She singled out her middle daughter, adding: "Tilly, my middle one, has been the greatest at teaching me to stop micromanaging. She is like, 'no Mum, let me try this, don't tell me what to do. I know what to do, and if it's a mistake, I'll still be ok.'"
"I think that's the big fear with parents, you think, 'oh my God, I've got to lead you through this one. It's going to be difficult,' but they have to make mistakes," she said.
Support from Peter Kay during illness
The Disney trip comes after McCall recently revealed that comedian Peter Kay privately supported her following her diagnoses with a brain tumour and breast cancer.
McCall had surgery in 2024 to remove the tumour, which was benign, before being diagnosed with breast cancer the following year. She said she found an unlikely source of support in Kay, 53, best known for creating and starring in the sitcom Phoenix Nights, with whom she was not close friends before her illnesses.
While in hospital being treated for the brain tumour, McCall said she received an unexpected phone call from Kay offering his help. "Do you know who really helped me, actually, and it was really strange. Peter Kay. He called me when I was in hospital with my brain tumour," she said. "I really don't know him that well but he was unbelievably supportive."
McCall said Kay also stayed by her side after her breast cancer diagnosis, talking her through her options. "He said: 'What do you want to do? How do you feel about it?' And he said: 'I think you know what you want to do.' And I was like: 'Yeah I want to talk about it,'" she said.
