A book about the menopause by TV presenter Davina McCall has scooped the top prize at the British Book Awards.
Menopausing, by McCall and Dr Naomi Potter, was named overall book of the year.
The so-called “Davina effect” saw a huge increase in demand for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after a Channel 4 documentary on the subject.
McCall and Potter’s Menopausing was praised by a panel of judges which included Channel 4 newsreader Krishnan Guru-Murthy, broadcaster Anita Rani, and DJ Vick Hope.
Six months after publication, it continues to rank highly in the bestseller charts.
Guru-Murthy said the book had helped to start a national conversation about menopause.
He said the broadcaster and the menopause doctor had produced an authoritative and entertaining book about “an important and ignored subject”.
Long Lost Family presenter McCall said she was “walking on air” after the award was announced.
“We are so so grateful to everyone that contributed… We will never stop spreading the message,” she tweeted.
She has previously said she though she had a brain tumour or Alzheimer’s when suffering from perimenopausal symptoms.
Her experience with her changing hormones led her to the decision to campaign to increase awareness and destigmatise the menopause.
Her Channel 4 documentary Sex, Myths and Menopause was broadcast in 2021 and Menopausing was published in September 2022.
HRT prescriptions rose by 42% in the last year leading to shortages due to lack of supplies.
Meanwhile, Sir Salman Rushdie said he was proud to receive the Freedom to Publish award on behalf of “everybody fighting that fight”.The award-winning writer lost the vision in one eye and spent six weeks in hospital after being attacked on stage.
