TV star Nikki Grahame died in 2021 aged just 38, after battling the eating disorder anorexia since her childhood and a new Channel 4 documentary Nikki Grahame: Who Is She? will provide an exclusive look into her life. Nikki shot to fame on the reality programme Big Brother, where she was known for her feisty behaviour in the house and went on to have her own TV shows.
Nikki entered the Big Brother house in 2006, taking part in the sixth series alongside fellow housemates including the Welsh model Imogen Thomas and Pete Bennett. During the show she became known for her tantrums often complaining about being in the house and her famous line of "Who IS she?!? Who IS she?!" making her a TV legend.
She was so popular with the viewers that she was voted back into the Big Brother house and later finished fifth in the series. Talking to The Guardian in 2020 Nikki said: "I hold fond memories of Big Brother, even though there were times where it looked like I was having a meltdown. Those meltdowns really were me, though. What you see has always been what you get - I can't be any other way."
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After appearing on Big Brother in 2006 Nikki won the National Television Award for Most Popular TV Contender and she went on to have many TV roles including presenting the Celebrity Spotting section on The Friday Night Project, co-presenting Celebrity Soup, and her own programmes Princess Nikki during which she had to try and hold down a normal job, away from her celebrity life. In 2010 Nikki entered the Big Brother house again for the Ultimate Big Brother when she came second.
As reported by The Sun, Nikki's anorexia began when she was just seven years old, after a girl at her gymnastics club told her she had a big bum. In one of her books Fragile, about her battle with the eating disorder, she said: “I started to think that to be better at gymnastics and to be more popular, I had to be skinny. Not eating became my hobby.”
She lied to her mum about eating lunch at school and would do over 100 sit-ups a day. When she was diagnosed with anorexia aged eight she was one of the youngest people in the UK with the eating disorder. By the age of nine Nikki was hospitalised and attempted to take her own life aged 12.
Nikki's battle with the eating disorder continued throughout her life and she has discussed her journey on TV, as well as writing books. In 2020, with the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns causing the gyms to shut, Nikki struggled to keep on top of her disorder.
The reality star was admitted to hospital on March 24, 2021, and left hospital on April 8, 2021. She died on April 9, 2021, and the documentary is a tribute to her life one year after her death.
During her time on Big Brother, Nikki had a whirlwind relationship with fellow housemate Pete Bennett who went on to win the show. They were unable to make their relationship work in the outside world but remained firm friends until Nikki's death.
Pete has revealed the last text Nikki sent to him before her death and paid her an emotional tribute. The text said: "Hey Petie, all good my end. Starting a clinic on Monday, which is good. And the sun is shining today!’"
Welsh model and friend to Nikki Imogen Thomas has also spoken about Nikki, saying that she couldn't walk up the stairs before her death and that she "tried everything" to save Nikki.
Nikki Grahame: Who Is She? will air on Channel 4 on Thursday, April, 7 at 9pm
