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Davina McCall says overcoming heroin addiction made her a 'much stronger person'

Watch: Davina McCall says beating drug addiction made her a stronger person

Davina McCall has said overcoming addiction has made her a "much stronger person".

The former Big Brother presenter used heroin in her 20s but managed to quit and subsequently forged a successful career.

Speaking during Advertising Week Europe 2021, the 53-year-old said: “I dealt with a very difficult, alcoholic, drug-addict mother and in turn ended up a drug addict myself.

"But it’s just made me a much stronger person and a person that doesn’t take no as the end of the line.

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“I was a heroin addict – that was my drug of choice. I loved heroin, more than my family, more than myself.

"I hated myself, but I loved heroin more than anything.

"I would have stolen, I would have got myself into terrible mixes to try and get it or have it or get money to have it.

Davina McCall battled heroin addiction in her 20s. (Photo by Scott Garfitt/PA Images via Getty Images)
Davina McCall struggled with heroin addiction in her 20s. (Scott Garfitt/PA Images via Getty Images)

“Getting through that, going to go into Narcotics Anonymous meetings, made me realise that if I can get through that I can pretty much get through [anything].”

The mother-of-three has previously recalled taking drugs with her mother when she visited her in France.

McCall, who grew up with her father's family in the UK, said they did not share a "normal mother-child relationship".

“I was just a kid and... I thought she was cool because my granny, Pippy, and my dad never let me do any of that in England. I realised years later it was because they were normal, responsible adults," she shared in a 2019 interview.

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Alongside her presenting career, McCall has also become something of a fitness guru over the years.

As well as releasing a range of fitness DVDs, she also regularly posts about exercise to social media and has her own online gym.

With additional reporting by PA.

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