DAVINA MCCALL HONOURED AT EDINBURGH TV FESTIVAL 2026

PRESENTER, BROADCASTER AND CAMPAIGNER TO BE PRESENTED WITH OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 

TV’s leading industry event, the Edinburgh TV Festival, brought to you by Screen Scotland, today announced that the TV Awards’ Outstanding Achievement Award for 2026 will be given to Davina McCall; one of the UK’s most successful and beloved broadcasters.  

From her TV debut on MTV, and playing Cupid on Streetmate to her era-defining decade hosting Big Brother, as well as multiple shows including BAFTA award winning series Long Lost Family, Million Pound Drop and The Masked Singer, McCall’s wit, warmth and wisdom has been lighting up TV screens for more than 30 years. 

In recent years, McCall has also become an outspoken champion and advocate for more public discourse around menopause and women’s health, including through her ground-breaking documentaries Sex, Myths and the Menopause and Sex, Mind and the Menopause. 

She is now at the vanguard of visualized podcasts, bringing her spritely curiosity and engaging, open interviewing style to her hit podcast, Begin Again, which explores the lives and experiences of a broad range of celebrities and experts who have stepped outside their comfort zones and reinvented themselves.   

At this year’s Festival, McCall will be in conversation to reflect on her incredible career as one of the UK’s most in demand, and loved, TV talents. 

McCall said; “I can’t quite believe that I’ve been awarded such an honour for doing something I love so much. I have been very lucky to have worked on many amazing shows and with many incredible people over my career, and have learnt so much along the way. To be given the Outstanding Achievement Award is huge and I can’t wait to look back at the last 30 years in the session at Edinburgh this summer.” 

Previous winners of the Outstanding Achievement Award include Lenny Henry, Claudia Winkleman, Jodie Comer, David Harewood and Hugh Laurie. 

Further speaker and session announcements will be made in the coming weeks. This year’s Festival will once again be held at the EICC in Edinburgh and passes are on sale now www.thetvfestival.com/passes