The Guardian Weekend recently profiled English TV host Davina McCall, who pushed herself to the breaking point for the grueling Sport Relief endurance challenge. Sport Relief raises money for kids in need in the U.K. and abroad, but at no small cost to the celebrities who participate. Here’s an excerpt from the Guardian‘s piece, along with portraits of McCall shot by Nadav Kander for the cover story…
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When she set off in “biblical” rain, she knew it would be physically punishing. At one point, after a mile-and-a-half swim, she had to be pulled barely conscious from Windermere. But she made it to London, raised almost £1m, and is still buzzing with pride. What she hadn’t anticipated was the emotional meltdown. “It was like somebody had opened the floodgates, and I let out every single bit of grief that I had. I was sobbing my guts out. I kept crying every day. I cried with fear. I cried with joy. I couldn’t stop.” She wept when she saw her father on the route, whenever anyone hugged her, even if she saw children outside a school. “I think I was just so tired that I had no defences, and I was just sobbing at everything.” (Read more here.)
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Davina McCall. Photo by Nadav Kander for The Guardian Weekend, March 14, 2014, issue.
Photo by Nadav Kander.
Photo by Nadav Kander.
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Credits
photography director: Kate Edwards
art director: Maggie Murphy
deputy art director: Pauline Doyle
art editor: Bruno Haward
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