Davina McCall going into podcast business with Dragon's Den star Steven Bartlett

23 March 2024 , 18:29

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Davina has signed up to be one of Stephen’s major partners in his new podcast network (Image: Hoda Davaine/Dave Benett/Getty I)

Davina McCall and Steven Bartlett are going into business after becoming pals last year.

Dragons’ Den star Steven, 31, and TV presenter Davina, 56, hit it off when she spoke of her struggles with addiction as a guest on his hit Diary of a CEO podcast. And sources say Davina has now signed up to be one of Stephen’s major partners in his new podcast network – which he hopes will become the biggest in Europe.

The entrepreneur will back the Masked Singer judge as she develops a new wellness podcast to be launched on his network. A source said: “Davina is one of Steven’s first major signings for his network and they are working together on ideas for the podcast.

Dragons’ Den star Steven, 31, and TV presenter Davina, 56, hit it off when she spoke of her struggles with addiction on his hit Diary of a CEO podcast (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

“They really hit it off after Diary of a CEO and have been having lots of conversations about teaming up. Davina’s passion for health and fitness made a podcast about wellness an obvious choice. They are both really excited about the project and can’t wait to get started later this year.”

On Diary of a CEO in August, Davina revealed how she began taking cocaine with her mum aged 15 and then spiralled downwards. The former Big Brother host told Steven she realised after an intervention from friends: “I’m not just addicted to heroin, it’s all drugs. I’ve got to stop.”

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Davina, who got clean at 24, also revealed she spent “the next two weeks going to meetings every day and for 90 days after, sobbing”. She added: “NA (Narcotics Anonymous) taught me how to live and how to change, and how to heal myself. I owe NA my life, literally. But it also gave me my career.”

Davina, who released her first fitness DVDs in 2007, launched new online fitness platform Own Your Goals in 2019. Diary of a CEO launched in 2017 and gets 40 million downloads a month. Steven unveiled plans for a network of podcasts in October.

Laura Armstrong