Davina McCall has opened up about her late half-sister’s death from lung cancer while making a very candid appearance on The Diary of a CEO Podcast by Steven Bartlett.
The presenter, 55, could not contain her emotion when she spoke about the last days of her sister Caroline’s life, saying: “It was the worst thing that ever happened to me.”
Caroline died at age 50 in 2012 after being diagnosed with lung cancer, bone cancer, and doctors told her she had two brain tumors.
Upset: Davina McCall broke down in tears remembering the death of her late half-sister from lung cancer when she made a very candid appearance on Steven Bartlett’s The Diary Of A CEO podcast
Davina explained how Caroline granted her a “lifelong wish” before passing away, even though it was “horrible” for Caroline and “gave her goosebumps”.
She said that Caroline didn’t want Davina to see her naked, that she didn’t want to show vulnerability in front of her sister.
For weeks Davina begged to help take care of Caroline before bed and she refused, until three days before her death she allowed it, knowing how much she meant to her.
Davina described the moment as a ‘pilgrimage’ and reflected on the bonding experience between her and her dying sister.
Devastating: Caroline (pictured) died at age 50 in 2012 after being diagnosed with lung cancer, bone cancer, and doctors told her she had two brain tumors.
She said: “Obviously no one had ever seen her naked and she had an amazing caretaker named Claire, oh my gosh she was the best ever.” She was the gentlest and understood respect and dignity. And because Claire was so amazing, Caroline wouldn’t let me undress her or get her ready for bed.
She didn’t want him to see her naked. And the night that she went to sleep for the last time, and three days later she died, she let me do it. To me she felt like Mecca, she felt like she had arrived. This was my pilgrimage to my sister: I finally crawled over the fence and now I’m in her body,” she continued.
He continued: “I asked if I could moisturize her, because every inch of her body needed cream so she wouldn’t get sores.” She couldn’t believe it, she had the softest skin. My sister had no hair, like at all. Her arms were so soft. I kept telling her how soft her skin was and she was cracking up. She called me ridiculous.
‘I got to put cream all over her body and I felt that she had given it to me. And it was horrible for her. Even when she was dying, she gave me a bit of herself that she never had before. It was very nice. That night she went to sleep and she was very distressed. They came and gave her more morphine – they called me ‘mama’ and held my hand. She had never been like this before.
Difficult: The presenter, 55, could not contain her emotion when she spoke about the last days of her sister Caroline’s life, saying: “It was the worst thing that ever happened to me.”
“I was with her when she left and it was really lovely. I kept talking to her the whole time because they say your audition is the last thing to go. And he just wanted her to know that she wasn’t crying, he was trying to be really strong for her. She kept telling him, ‘I’m going to be fine,’ because, I think, out of everything, she was most worried about me.
‘That was her last thought: whether or not I was going to be okay, because she knew how strong she was for me. It wasn’t just me taking care of her, she was taking care of me. She wanted to make sure that I was going to be okay.
Davina found Caroline paralyzed on the floor one morning after a bout of ill health and rushed her to hospital where she received the devastating diagnosis that she only had months to live. Davina then cared for Caroline in her home until she passed away.
The TV star said of her death as her voice cracked: “I wish I was here so I could tell you how wonderful life is.” I never thought he would die at 50, he was a great person, he still had so much more to give. It was the worst thing that ever happened to me.
Ordeal: Davina found Caroline paralyzed on the floor one morning after a bout of ill health and rushed her to the hospital where she received the devastating diagnosis.
On the podcast, Davina also described in detail Caroline’s deteriorating health and the lead up to her diagnosis.
The star explained: ‘She was a bit reserved. She had just turned 50, she accidentally ran into a door once and she was always dropping things, she was forgetful, she had a bad back. She didn’t know if it was menopause, but she knew something was up.
“One morning she had been screaming for help and I came in the door and she had been on the floor all night, she had gotten dirty and was paralyzed in the middle of her body, I called an ambulance but they said it was not a stroke cerebral”. .
Beleaguered: Elsewhere on the podcast, she opened up about her difficult upbringing and spoke candidly about her upbringing, saying she first tried drugs at a very young age (pictured in 1995)
“They did all these tests and the doctor said that you have primary lung cancer in both lungs and two tumors in the brain and maybe you have bone cancer as well.” She looked at me and said ‘it’s all my fault’ after all the smoking.’
Davina later described calling her mom and dad to tell them the terrible news, saying she felt like she “couldn’t breathe” while in the hospital hallway.
But in a positive twist, Davina recounted how she and her sister had much more open conversations during the last weeks of her life.
She said: ‘I wouldn’t let him shut me out. We had the most amazing conversations when she was dying, the best seven weeks with my sister were the last seven weeks of her life.
He was in the hospital for a month and then we went back to the cabin and hung out. His first chemo was scheduled for two days after he died, we made a wish list: go to France one more time, see friends.