Davina McCall talked fans through how she takes her daily hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on Instagram on Thursday.
The presenter, 53, joked that taking testosterone wouldn’t make her grow a penis in the light-hearted clip as she applied oestrogen in gel form to her left arm and testosterone to her leg.
Standing in just a towel she said: ‘Did you know testosterone is an enormously important woman’s hormone as well?
‘And my testosterone was low and I take a pea sized bit of testosterone. By the way taking testosterone does not make you grow a penis or get testicles or hairy or anything like that.’
Davina also showed how she applies hormone patches to her groin area twice a week showing off her horn tattoo and telling viewers: ‘So this is my old hormone sticker. That is my horn tattoo.
‘I was going to take it off in the shower and wash it properly because it does leave a little bit of sticky stuff but I thought you should see the ups and downs.
She added: ‘I wanted you to see warts and all. This is what it looks like. When I put on a a new sticker I put it on the other side.
‘We use stickers because they are transdermal. It’s a much better way to take HRT. This is called Estradot. It is the patch, there’s my bum and you peel it like this.’
It comes after Davina candidly spoke about turning to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) amid her menopausal struggle.
Sharing her experience ahead of her documentary, the TV presenter detailed her own ‘frightening’ journey, revealing she ‘went into a bit of a depression’.
Davina admitted she was embarrassed about going public with the fact that she had started body-identical HRT, in which yams replace the synthetic hormones used in HRT.
She told the Radio Times: ‘I was scared about what was going on. I found out a newer HRT treatment was made from yams, but was afraid to go public about it.’
‘Somehow menopause is shameful to admit, in a million different ways. You’re past your sell-by date. You’re not a baby-maker.’
Describing her perimenopause (the early stages of the menopause) Davina added: ‘My sleep was interrupted two or three times a night and it caused a chain of events in my brain that really frightened me.
‘The mental fog and confusion were so overwhelming.’
The former Big Brother host’s new Channel 4 documentary strives to eliminate the myths surrounding menopause, and dispel the shame and fear around hormone replacement therapy.
Davina previously revealed she was left in tears of ‘frustration and anger’ while filming the show, confessing: ‘I get home after filming and sometimes I just sit down and cry… from deep frustration and anger at how we are failing women.’
She added: ‘This film isn’t just for menopausal women, it’s for their partners, their fathers, their brothers, and their sons.’
In January the former Big Brother host revealed that she believed she was developing early onset Alzheimer’s when she started going through the menopause.
According to the NHS, one of the symptoms of menopause is problems with memory and concentration, as well as night sweats, hot flushes, vaginal dryness, difficulty sleeping, low mood and anxiety.
Speaking on Gabby Logan’s The Mid.Point podcast, she recalled: ‘I’m learning different things for everything in my brain sometimes, because when I went to my doctor and I said, ‘Look, please help me, I think I’ve got Alzheimer’s because obviously my dad’s got Alzheimer’s’.
‘And I was like, ‘I’m always paranoid – I know I haven’t really got it but am I okay?’ [The doctor] said, ‘It’s called cognitive overload’.’
Davina’s candid comments come after she reportedly stepped down from her presenting gig on the reboot of Changing Rooms as the upcoming filming dates conflict with her current work commitments.
The TV personality was expected to host the Channel 4 show with Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, it was announced last year.
But after the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc with her schedule and pushed back production dates twice, she can longer commit to the new series.
An insider told The Sun: ‘Davina was so excited to be part of the reboot but with the changing production schedule, it has become a nightmare.
‘Filming was supposed to take place at the end of last year but it got moved until earlier this year. And now it’s been pushed back again.
‘The lockdown and pandemic have played havoc with the schedule and sadly Davina has said she won’t be able to commit. It’s the last thing anyone wanted but she is so busy with other filming commitments.
‘Everyone on Changing Rooms is gutted as getting Davina on board was a huge coup for the reboot.’
Anna Richardson has since been announced as the presenter of the reboot.
