Nikki Grahame tragically passed away aged 38 on Friday 9th April 2021. If you would like to talk to someone about help with eating disorders, please contact Beat on 0808 801 0677.
Trigger warning: this article contains discussion of disordered eating some readers may find distressing.
Big Brother star Nikki Grahame admits in this week’s heat magazine that her anorexia has sadly returned. She’s now seeking the help she needs, and insists talking to heat is part of her therapy.
How did you know you’d relapsed?
All I ever think about is exercise. I have to go to the gym every day, plus I walk obsessively everywhere. I have to do some sort of physical activity after I’ve eaten anything and I have this phobia of having more than 400 calories at any one time. It’s completely out of control. I can’t allow myself to sleep or switch off if I don’t feel I’ve done enough exercise in a day.
Your life doesn’t sound happy…
I’m tormented. I’m not sleeping. I’m lucky if I get five hours sleep a night because I’m so tormented. All I think about is this regimented schedule that I have to adhere to every moment of the day, and I can’t switch off – it’s unbearable. And that’s why I was just like I need someone to take this torment away from me.
Big Brother series seven: where are they now?
Big Brother series seven: where are they now? slider
1 of 20Pete Bennett
Pete was the first housemate to enter the Big Brother house, and made quite an entrance by falling down he stairs. He was also the last to leave after winning the show with a landslide 61% of the vote.
2 of 20Pete Bennett now
Pete's now an actor, starring in a show called Green Fingers on Amazon Prime. In late 2020, he's appearing in a Catherine Tate film, This Nan's Life.
3 of 20Glyn Wise
Remember Glyn? Only vaguely? Us too, yet he came second on the show after a whopping 93 days in the house. Blimey.
4 of 20Glyn Wise now
Glyn stood as Plaid Cymru's candidate in Cardiff Central in 2016 but resigned from the party later that year.
5 of 20Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace
Aisleyne divided opinion among the Big Brother housemates, she was voted to be sent to the House Next Door in week six, but she was popular with viewers and ended in a very respectable third place.
6 of 20Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace now
Aisleyne is the biggest monetary success story of her series and is worth an estimated cool £4.3m. She's still a darling of the tabloids and, honestly? We're still a little bit in love with her.
7 of 20Richard Newman
Another housemate who stirred up mixed feelings in the house, Richard survived eviction a whopping six times. He wound up in fourth place.
8 of 20Richard Newman not really now tbh
It's remarkably difficult to find an up-to-date snap of Richard (rude) so here's a jolly picture of him and fellow housemate Lea Walker. He went on to present a show on Gaydar radio for two years after the show.
9 of 20Nikki Grahame
One of the most iconic Big Brother contestants of all time, Nikki Grahame was booted out of the house on day 58 but was put back in on day 83. She ended up in fifth place which is weird considering her "WHO IS SHE?" rant is still common parlance.
10 of 20Nikki Grahame now
Since leaving Big Brother, Nikki has done a whole lot more Big Brother, including Ultimate Big Brother (she came second to Brian Dowling) and Big Brother Canada 4 (she lasted a whopping 59 days).Nikki tragically passed away in April 2020 following a long battle with anorexia.
11 of 20Jennie Corner
Look, we're going to level with you here. We don't remember anything about Jennie's time in the house and yet she was part of the finale and came in sixth place after 49 days in the house.
12 of 20Jennie Corner...still in 2006
Jennie's post-Big Brother life seems to have been lived out of the spotlight (as is her absolute right). She did a saucy photoshoot for now defunct lads' mag Zoo, posted some tweets in 2013 but other than that...nada.
13 of 20Imogen Thomas
Miss Wales 2003, Imogen lasted 86 days in the Big Brother house, just missing out on a place in the finale.
14 of 20Imogen Thomas
Unlike Jennie, Imogen has very much kept herself in the public eye. Her most notorious moment was when her alleged affair with Ryan Giggs was subject to a gagging order in 2011.
15 of 20Mikey Dalton and Grace Adams-Short
Grace and Mikey got together on the show, although when Grace left on day 30, Mikey stayed on and clocked up 79 days in the house.
16 of 20Mikey Dalton and Grace Adams-Short now
There can't have been any hard feelings though: the pair married in 2009 and are...still together.
17 of 20Lea Walker
Lea once claimed to have the biggest boobs in Britain. Ah, mems. The big busted former porn star, who we were HUGE fans of, was evicted on day 51 but returned for three days at the end of the show's run.
18 of 20Lea Walker now
Lea presented a radio show with Richard for two years (see above). She now has an OnlyFans account, as is the modern way and, from Twitter, seems as feisty and opinionated as ever. Hooray!
19 of 20Sezer Yurtseven
Sezer was the second person to be evicted from the house (after Bonnie Holt) but the fifth to leave after two housemates walked in the first two weeks (Shahbaz Chauhdry and George Askew) and Dawn Blake was ejected for apparently breaking the rules.
20 of 20Sezer Yurtseven now
Sezer's had quite the glow up since leaving the house. He know describes as a homeless campaigner which just adds to the phwoar factor.
Is that why you’ve checked in to a clinic?
Yes. I just need a little bit of help and I’m not ashamed to ask for it. I’ve kept myself healthy for ten years and I’m putting my hands up now and asking for a little push to help me out. The doctor told me that the lower my weight the louder the anorexic voice and that is so true. Even when I’m 5kgs heavier I’m so much more rational. At the moment I’m just frantic. I want to be fit and healthy.
Do they help you to put on weight?
I’ve said I’m going to stay there for a couple of weeks, get me out of this rut. Get me in the habit of doing what I need to do. Then I can go back to being an outpatient and going to my therapy once a week. That’s all I need someone to give me a kick-start.
This article first appeared on heat on 5 September 2014.