Big Brother star Nikki Grahame died in April 2021 aged only 38, after a long battle with an eating disorder.
Now, a year on from her tragic death, a new Channel 4 documentary is set to look back on and celebrate her life, also featuring exclusive interviews with the star's family and friends, including her mum.
Showcasing home videos and archived stories of her life outside the limelight, the documentary will also give Nikki's fans a look at her heartbreaking struggles with anorexia.
Here's what you need to know about Nikki Grahame and how the tragic reality star died.
Who was Nikki Grahame?
Nikki Grahame rose to fame after entering the Big Brother house during the seventh series in 2006. The Watford-born star immediately won hearts with her appearance, going on to take fifth place.
After her first Big Brother stint, Grahame was given her own reality show, Princess Nikki, which ran for six episodes.
She also returned to the BB house four more times - on Ultimate Big Brother in 2010, as a 'time warp' housemate in 2015, in Canadian Big Brother in 2017, then finally returning to the UK version of the show in 2018.
Nikki developed anorexia as a youngster and went on to release two autobiographies, Dying To Be Thin as well as Fragile, both exploring her battle with the eating disorder.
What was Nikki Grahame's cause of death?
Nikki Grahame's cause of death was established as anorexia nervosa, during an investigation into the hospital from which she was discharged a day before her death.
The reality star checked into a private hospital to treat her eating disorder, after friends raised over £65,500 to start paying for life-saving care.
Nikki had always been open about her struggles with anorexia, which she had been fighting since she was a child, being admitted to a psychiatric hospital after a suicide bid aged 12.
She'd once starving herself to the point where she had to be force-fed through a nasal tube. During the first Covid lockdown her illness spiralled further out of control when gyms were forced to close.
Her mum Sue spoke of her daughter's health battle on This Morning, explaining that Nikki dreaded eating if she couldn't exercise.
She said: "In order for her to eat she needs to know she can exercise, so when they closed it was quite a worry, the isolation as well. I asked her if she would come and stay with me but she said she needs to be in her home."
She added that the Big Brother icon was also spending too much time on her own, "with not enough to think about other than food."
Before she succumbed to her illness on April 9 2021, Nikki had a BMI of just 10, according to her mother.
Recalling Grahame's final hospitalisation before her death, her mum 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 said her daughter "was pitiful," and that she was discharged despite being very ill. Recalling Nikki's final words, on a phone call with her the night before she died, her mum 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."
Nikki Grahame: Who Is She? airs Thursday April 6 at 9pm on Channel 4
For help and support on eating disorders contact Beat Eating Disorders on 0808 801 0677
