Former Big Brother star Imogen Thomas has recalled calling for an ambulance after Nikki Grahame rang her up telling her that she wanted to die.
The beloved TV personality struggled with an eating disorder throughout her life and was admitted to 17 institutions to get help.
However, it was when lockdown was imposed in 2020 that Nikki found her anorexia taking over as she lived alone in her flat.
Tragically, Nikki died just a year later in April 2021.
"Lockdown was probably the worst thing that could have happened to Nikki," her friend Purdy Smith says in a new Channel 4 documentary. "If lockdown hadn't happened, we probably wouldn't be sitting here right now... with Nikki living on her own and being isolated, it took over her."
Speaking about going to see her in her flat, she says: "It was awful. I've never seen her that unwell before. I went home and cried my eyes out."
While Imogen says: "There was one Sunday morning when she called me and said, 'Imogen, I just want to die.' The first thing I done was call the ambulance.
"The paramedics came but she wouldn't go in the ambulance. The paramedics said to her 'One day your body will give up Nikki, but we can't take you against your will'.
"I sometimes think if she had got in that ambulance that day, it could have saved her."
Another friend, Carly Cunningham, says: "At this point we were like, OK, this is really, really serious now and it had just got completely out of control. It was a friend of Nikki's and mine who came up with the idea of a GoFundMe."
They managed to raise £70,000 to help Nikki get treatment.
"It was a really hard decision for us on what pictures to use because she was very unwell and heavily underweight at this point," Carly says. "So we went back to Nikki and let her decide what pictures to choose. People don't realise the seriousness of how far it can go."
Nikki was taken to hospital after falling over in a chemist, but later died.
Sue recalls Nikki being taken away in a bag, and says: "Watching them put my little girl in a bag, taking her down in the lift and I asked them which end her head was... and I just stroked it from the outside. They took her away and i didn't see her again. part of me has died and I miss her, more than I can say."
*If you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit their site to find your local branch
*Nikki Grahame: Who Is She? airs tonight at 9pm on Channel 4
