Nikki Grahame had a BMI of just 10 when she died, her mother has revealed.
The Big Brother legend passed away last April at the age of 38 after a long battle with anorexia.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast ahead of a documentary being aired about Nikki’s life, her mum Susan recalled the day she died.
She said: “Nikki was discharged from hospital. She came down to visit me, she collapsed and was blue lighted into the local hospital in Dorset and was there for two weeks.
“She had a BMI of 10. She was pitiful. I went there every day to shower her, dress her, to sit with her while she ate, to take the load off the nurses. It wasn’t a specialised unit.”
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Doctors consider a healthy BMI for women to be between 18.5 and 24.9.
Susan said although Nikki was still very ill, she somehow managed to convince medics she was fine to go home.
This was despite the reality TV star being so weak she could no longer walk unaided or climb the stairs.
Speaking about the night she died, her mum continued: “She rang me at half three in the morning and said ‘Hi mum.’ She was quite normal – she normally did it when she was drunk.
“She said ‘I managed to get to the loo’. She’d ordered herself a walking frame so she managed to get to the loo.
“I said ‘Well done darling, that’s the way. Every day just write down one thing that’s been positive today. You’ll get there, there’s no hurry’.”
Recalling Nikki’s final words, Susan added: “She said ‘Mum, I’m so tired,’.
“So I said ‘Go to sleep darling, I’ll call you in the morning’, and she died.”
A year on from her tragic death, Channel 4 will air a new documentary called Nikki Grahame: Who Is She?
Taking its name from her most iconic quote in the Big Brother house, the programme will look back on Nikki’s life and career as she became one of the best-loved reality stars in the UK.
After developing an eating disorder at the age of just eight, her mum said being on Big Brother was the highlight of her life as it meant she finally felt accepted.
“She said in interviews before that Big Brother saved her life, because I think that was the healthiest and happiest she had been for those years.
“I think when she got voted out she thought everybody hated her. She always had this low self-esteem.
“So when the doors opened and she heard the cheering, it was genuine, her tears.”
Proud mum Susan continued: “She was shocked because Nikki never got it. She said ‘I don’t get why people are acting like this’. She never saw her worth.
“I know that going on Big Brother was her dream and I’m really glad she did, because I felt she deserved it.
“She’d lost her childhood [to anorexia] and I thought this is what you should have. This is yours.”
•Nikki Grahame: Who Is She? will air on Thursday April 7 at 9pm on Channel 4
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