Big Brother's Nikki Grahame 'couldn't walk upstairs' in days before tragic death
06.04.2022 - 15:05
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Reality TV star Imogen Thomas has revealed the struggles Nikki Grahame faced in the days before she died.
To coincide with the year anniversary of Nikki's death, former Big Brother star Imogen paid tribute to her friend. Nikki sadly passed away on April 9, 2021 at just 38-years-old following a lifelong battle with anorexia.
Nikki passed away in her sleep just a day after she was discharged from hospital, OK! magazine reports. Imogen, 39, and Nikki first met during their stint on Big Brother back in 2006, and their friendship remained strong.
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But the Covid-19 pandemic really took its toll on Nikki, and she relapsed into anorexia when gyms closed at the start of lockdown in 2020. Imogen has since reflected on their friendship and even revealed she tried to intervene and have Nikki sectioned in a desperate attempt to save her life.
She said: "She deteriorated so much, she didn’t have any control over it, she was so ill. When she tried to walk up the stairs she couldn’t move her legs and had to pick them up with her hands."
Imogen added: "She called me a few weeks before she died saying she wanted to die. She didn’t want to be anorexic, she really did want to fight this but there was a part in her head that just couldn’t do it."
Although Nikki was desperate to recover from the eating disorder, she insisted that being admitted to hospital didn't help because "the patients would have a competition to see who can be the thinnest".
In an emotional interview with OK! recently, Nikki's mum Susan poured her heart out about her daughter's disease and final days, explaining how she did everything she could to help - but it was never enough. "They're honestly a blessing," she said.
Susan also revealed she begged Nikki to