Big Brother's Nikki Grahame sadly died at the age of 38 after a long battle with anorexia nervosa.
The TV personality was best known for her iconic 'who is she?' phrase after she starred in the seventh series of the hit Channel 4 reality show back in 2006. During her time in the legendary house, she became close to fellow contestants Pete Bennett and Imogen Thomas.
Now, sadly, her friends and fans can only share fond memories of the Channel 4 drama queen as she succumbed to anorexia last April. Nikki's life is set to be celebrated in a new TV documentary which promises to show 'behind her bright and funny media persona.'
READ MORE: Big Brother's Kate Lawler thanks fans for support after stint in hospital
The Channel 4 special documentary will celebrate Nikki's life through archive footage and home movies. Nikki's mother, Sue Grahame, said: "Nikki was so much more than a reality TV contestant and I am looking forward to celebrating her short life in this documentary."
Channel 4 said: "Feisty, volatile and unapologetic, she was an inspiration to millions - and when Nikki uttered her immortal line on Big Brother: 'Who IS she?! Who IS she?!', she became a TV legend. Behind the bright and funny media persona, Nikki was a complex woman who bravely battled anorexia for over 30 years. Her illness reached crisis point during the UK’s third national lockdown and, tragically, Nikki lost her fight for life on Friday 9th April 2021."
Nikki had been receiving special treatment in hospital not long before her death. Her friend Leon Dee started a GoFundMe to fund private treatment after Nikki "exhausted every option" on the NHS - raising more than £70,000. However, just one day after she was discharged from Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester, Nikki was found unconscious at her home on April 9, 2021.
Her mum told The Mirror that Nikki's battle with the eating disorder lasted for 30 years. She said: “I am destroyed. There’s part of me that’s lost forever. My fight to get Nikki well started 30 years ago. In the end, I lost her. It has been the fight from hell.”
Sue has previously said she believed her daughter’s anorexia started after another child commented on the size of her bottom in a gymnastics class. When she turned eight, the star weighed just under 3st.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Susan said: "She was a tiny little thing, I was so desperate I can remember actually scooping food with my hand and trying to force it into her mouth.”
The grieving mum appeared on ITV's This Morning and claimed that the coronavirus pandemic worsened Nikki's condition. Susan said that Nikki struggled with the isolation periods and gym closures brought by the nationwide lockdowns, admitting: 'COVID-19 really put the cap on it.'
Before Nikki's death, her mum spoke of how the pandemic 'floored' her. She said: "This last year has just about floored her… From the first lockdown, it was hellish. She struggled because she couldn’t go to the gym. Then in December she fell down and cracked her pelvis in two places and broke her wrist. I stayed with her for three or four weeks because she couldn’t do anything.”
Nikki Grahame: Who is she? will air on Thursday, April 7, 2022 at 9PM on Channel 4.
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