Davina McCall tears up as she addresses mental health campaign

Davina McCall has made an emotional plea with the nation to use this ‘self isolation’ time to “get talking”.

Davina, 52, took to Twitter to promote ITV’s latest campaign ‘Britain Get Talking’ and took the opportunity to send her parents a message.

She said, “This is a message to my mum and my dad from me and Bo… we’d like to say that we miss you so much. You can hear Bo is actually pining.”

Making reference to the spread of COVID-19 - which is forcing everyone to stay indoors - Davina added, “Obviously right now it’s not the right thing to come visit you. I don’t want to put you guys in any danger. Mum, I know you are doing an amazing job of taking care of dad and we all appreciate it so much.’

Having battled drug addiction in the past, Davina is no stranger to mental health issues. "I am a happy person generally. My glass is always half full. However, I lost that. I went to the darkest of places and I thought I had nothing left," she said on The Naked Professors podcast.

"I was going to break. Snap. I am very happy in my own company now, but it's taking a long time to get here."

After filming Saturday Night Takeaway without a live audience for the first time ever, Ant and Dec launched ITV’s new mental health campaign – encouraging people to "get talking".

Addressing the nation, Dec said, “You’ve just watched the show at home, a place where we’re all going to be spending a bit more time over the next few weeks."

Ant added, “Yes, now more of us will be apart or by ourselves than ever before and it’s going to be harder for some of us than it is for others.”

Dec continued, “Which is why it’s never been more important that we keep talking. Just hearing someone’s voice has been shown to reduce anxiety and distress.”

The pair poignantly ended by saying, “We’ve never needed each other more.”