Davinia Taylor has claimed infrared saunas ‘saved her life’ after she gave up her wild lifestyle for sobriety and biohacking. 

In a revealing and unfiltered conversation, the actress and self-described ‘biohacker’ sat down with the Mail’s Bryony Gordon on The Life of Bryony podcast, to discuss her transformation from party girl to wellness advocate. 

The former Hollyoaks star, 47, opens up about addiction, recovery, motherhood, and her unorthodox health rituals – sharing eyebrow-raising insights into the world of hormone hacking, infrared saunas, and the ‘real’ causes of brain fog.

Davinia, known for her candid social media presence and pᴀssion for alternative health, speaks with the same boldness here—claiming certain wellness routines have saved her life and even reversed ageing. 

With a tone that’s equal parts entertaining and controversial, this is one of the most outspoken episodes yet.

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Davinia Taylor has claimed infrared saunas ‘saved her life’ after she gave up her wild lifestyle for sobriety and biohacking

In this unfiltered conversation, the actress and self-described ‘biohacker’ joins The Life of Bryony to discuss her transformation from party girl to wellness advocate (pictured in 2003)

Discussing her battle with stress and sobriety, Davinia said she now sits in a £200 infrared sauna nightly to detox her liver and mimic the relaxing effects of wine

Discussing her battle with stress and sobriety, Davinia said she now sits in a £200 infrared sauna nightly to detox her liver and mimic the relaxing effects of wine.

She explained: ‘I sit in there… have some activated charcoal or something, do a proper detox… go to bed, you’ll wake up tip-top.’

Admitting that wine was her ‘drug of choice’ she explained: ‘I really hit right bottom kind of early doors really. 

‘I was very much white wine. And drinking. White wine vodka, beer didn’t get me as much, but I would take that on a very last course of action.

‘And weirdly, nicotine didn’t get me either. As soon as I put the drink down, nicotine didn’t.

‘So I was pretty lucky with that accessibility because alcohol is really accessible, drugs and all.

‘So it was pretty easy to access my drug of choice, which was why, why, particularly when Tesco is open 24/7.’ 

‘Addiction is not a choice, by the way. It’s a body’s way of coping with a certain situation.’ 

Admitting that wine was her ‘drug of choice’ she explained: ‘I really hit right bottom kind of early doors really. I was very much white wine. And drinking’ (pictured  with Kelly Osbourne leaving Kate Moss’ 34th birthday party in 2008)

The actress continued: ‘So for me to be exposed to so much alcohol was just catastrophic for me. ‘However, it fast-tracked me into rock bottom and then got me sober very early in life’ 

After embracing sobriety 16-years ago, becoming a fitness guru and turning her focus to biohacking, Davinia now boasts a bio-age of 26

  PODCAST: Join Bryony Gordon (and a special guest) for your weekly dose of therapy, minus the couch. Listen to all episodes HERE          

The actress continued: ‘And boom, like I said earlier, it’s an evil use when we miss match. So for me to be exposed to so much alcohol was just catastrophic for me.

‘However, it fast-tracked me into rock bottom and then got me sober very early in life.’ 

Davinia was famed for her position in the notorious Primrose Hill party set, where she joined her then-husband Dave Gardner in partying through the Nineties with pals including Kate Moss, Sadie Frost and Jude Law. 

After embracing sobriety 16-years ago, becoming a fitness guru and turning her focus to biohacking, Davinia now boasts a bio-age of 26. 

Biohacking involves making small, strategic scientific-backed changes to habits and behaviours to improve things like cognitive function and weight management. 

She continued: ‘It’s like, the body wants to heal. It wants to survive. It doesn’t want to punish you.

‘It’s not judgmental. It’s like, f***, okay, we’ve got rid of that addictive or that inflammatory ingredient, be it food, be it gambling, be it behaviours, be it alcohol, be it drugs, whatever.

‘We’ve got rid of it. Now let’s quickly repair and let’s crack on with what we were meant to do, which is thrive.’ 

The Life of Bryony:Your twice weekly dose of therapy, minus the couch. Listen wherever you get your podcasts now.

‘I was convinced that because of all the drinking and drugging and eating disorders and just the terrible ways over the years.

‘And the stress and the stress and depression. Yeah, lack of sleep and all that, yeah. OCD, all of that.

‘I was convinced that my biological age would be around about 156. And it blew my mind. Lo and behold told me my biological age was 26.’ 

Ever feel like life is a bit…too much? Bestselling author and journalist Bryony Gordon is here to ditch the shame and dive headfirst into life’s messier bits. 

Search for The Life of Bryony wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes released every Monday and Friday.