Yes, Davina McCall has children. She has three: daughters Holly and Tilly, and son Chester. Their father is her ex-husband, the TV presenter Matthew Robertson. All three are now adults. Davina has been careful about how much of their lives she shares, so this guide sticks to what she and the family have made public.
Last checked: 17 October 2026. Ages change every year and reports don’t always agree, so we give birth years and tell you where the sources differ.
How many children does Davina McCall have?
Davina has three children with Matthew Robertson. They married in 2000 and later separated.
| Child | Born | Approximate age (October 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Holly | 2001 | 25 |
| Tilly (Matilda) | 2003 | 23 |
| Chester | 2006 | 20 |
Hello! magazine’s profile puts all three birthdays in September. To work out a current age, take the birth year away from the current year, then subtract one more if it’s before their birthday.
That’s why we use birth years. Plenty of older articles still give the ages that were correct when they were written, such as “16, 14 and 13” from 2018. Those ages are now wrong and get copied around the web.
Meet the children: Holly, Tilly and Chester
Davina rarely shares her children’s private lives in detail. What we have mostly comes from her interviews, her books and the occasional birthday or milestone post. We don’t fill the gaps with guesses.
Holly
Holly was born in 2001 and is the eldest. Davina has described her in interviews as the caring one, a “mother hen” who looks out for her younger brother and sister. Holly has had some public moments of her own as an adult. Anything about her career or relationships should come from Holly’s own channels or confirmed reports, not from rumour.
Tilly
Tilly, short for Matilda, was born in 2003 and is the middle child. Davina has spoken about learning to step back as a parent, swapping micromanaging for trusting her children to make their own choices. She has linked some of those lessons to watching her daughters grow up. She has also paid public tribute to both girls on milestone days.
Chester
Chester was born in 2006 and is the youngest. He is also the least visible of the three. Davina has mentioned him in passing, mostly in the context of family life and parenting a teenage boy, but has shared far less about him than about his sisters. We think that’s a reasonable choice, and we follow it here.
Do Davina McCall’s children work in TV?
No confirmed reports say any of the three has followed their parents into presenting. Be careful with claims online about the children’s jobs or partners. Scraper sites often present guesses as fact.
Partner and wider family
Who is the father of Davina McCall’s children?
Matthew Robertson, a TV presenter best known for Fifth Gear, is the father of all three children. He and Davina married in 2000. Holly was born the following year.
When did Davina and Matthew divorce? Where sources disagree
The couple announced their separation in late 2017, after about 17 years of marriage. Sources disagree after that:
- 2017 is the date many profiles, including Wikipedia’s summary, use as the end of the marriage. That’s the year the split was announced.
- 2018 or later appears in other coverage, which tends to date the legal divorce, not the announcement.
Both can be true. A separation is often announced long before a divorce is finalised. We say “separated in 2017” because that’s the date both of them confirmed publicly.
How Davina and Matthew co-parent
From what Davina has said, the co-parenting has been amicable. She has described the family still getting together, including shared meals, and has said putting the children first was the priority. She has spoken warmly about Matthew as a father. Neither of them has aired grievances in public, which is part of why there’s so little gossip about the split.
Is Davina McCall married now? Her partner Michael Douglas
Davina’s partner is the celebrity hairstylist Michael Douglas. He is not the Hollywood actor of the same name. They have been publicly together since around 2018. When Davina announced in late 2024 that she was having surgery to remove a colloid cyst, a benign brain tumour, Michael was openly by her side throughout her treatment and recovery. When we last checked, no marriage had been confirmed.
Davina’s wider family
Davina has talked openly about her own childhood. She was largely raised by her paternal grandparents after her parents split up, and she has spoken about her mother’s struggles with alcohol. She has also talked about losing her sister Caroline to cancer in 2012. These experiences come up again and again when she explains why she prioritises stability for her own children.
For more on how other well-known families handle life in the public eye, see our guides to Janette Manrara’s children and family life and Gordon Ramsay’s siblings and family.
Public family moments
Davina doesn’t run a family brand, but some moments have become public over the years:
- Tributes to her daughters. She has posted warm birthday and milestone messages for Holly and Tilly, which Hello! and others have covered.
- Her views on parenting. She told Woman & Home: “I don’t want to be best friends with my kids.” Her point was that children need a parent with boundaries, not a peer. It’s one of her clearest statements on how she raised them.
- Being open about health and bodies. Through her menopause campaigning, including her book Menopausing, she has said she talks openly with her children about women’s health and body image. The Express & Star and others have reported on her talking frankly at home about getting older and about her body.
- Her 2024 health scare. She shared her diagnosis and recovery publicly. She said her family’s support mattered, while keeping the children’s personal reactions mostly private.
A pattern worth noticing: Davina talks openly about herself, including her body, her health and her past, but says much less about her children. That’s a deliberate line, and it’s why reliable detail about them is limited.
What the family keeps private
Davina has a reputation for guarding her children’s privacy, especially when they were younger. They grew up with two famous parents, yet appeared in public far less than you might expect.
Here’s what we leave out of this article on purpose, and why:
- Addresses, schools and universities. These details have no public interest value and carry a real safety risk.
- The children’s private relationships. If they haven’t confirmed it themselves, we don’t report it.
- Childhood photos and stories from when they were minors beyond what Davina chose to share.
- Unconfirmed claims about money, inheritance, careers or family rifts. These turn up on low-quality sites, often with clear factual errors.
How we sourced this article
We used Davina’s own interviews, including with Woman & Home, along with coverage from Hello! and the Express & Star, her published books, and widely reported, uncontested facts such as the 2000 marriage and the 2017 separation. Where sources disagree, we tell you. We last checked these details on 17 October 2026 and will update the article if anything significant changes.
Related reading
- Who Is Robson Green’s Partner? Relationship and Family Life
- Who Is Helen Skelton? Outdoors, Happiness, Career, Family and Key Facts
- Janette Manrara’s Children and Family Life: What We Know
FAQs
Does Davina McCall have children?
Yes. Davina McCall has three children: daughters Holly (born 2001) and Tilly (born 2003), and son Chester (born 2006). All three are now adults.
How many children does Davina McCall have?
She has three children, all with her ex-husband Matthew Robertson. As of October 2026, they are roughly 25, 23 and 20.
What are Davina McCall’s children’s names?
Her children are Holly, Matilda (known as Tilly) and Chester. Davina has shared only limited details about each of them, and is especially private about Chester.
Who is the father of Davina McCall’s children?
The children’s father is TV presenter Matthew Robertson, best known for Fifth Gear. He and Davina married in 2000 and announced their separation in 2017. Some outlets give 2018 or later as the date the divorce was finalised.
Are Davina McCall and Matthew Robertson still on good terms?
From what Davina has said in interviews, yes. She has described an amicable co-parenting relationship centred on the children, with the family still getting together for occasions such as shared meals.
Who is Davina McCall’s partner now?
Davina’s partner is the celebrity hairstylist Michael Douglas. They have been publicly together since around 2018, and he supported her through her 2024 brain surgery. When we last checked, no marriage had been announced.
