Nicola on pal Nikki’s anorexia: “I cried when I saw her – she has desperately tried fighting this”
Friends have revealed Nikki Grahame is “in a bad way” as they raise funds to save her life after a 20-year battle with an eating disorder. Here, Nicola McLean gives an insight into the cruel mental illness and her friendship with the Big Brother star
The worrying depths of Big Brother star Nikki Grahame’s struggle with anorexia were highlighted last week as pal Rylan Clark-Neal made a public plea for help to save her life.
The TV host shared a GoFund Me page – set up by Nikki’s friends to raise funds for her to receive specialist treatment – that showed heartbreaking images of her.
On the page’s bio, Nikki’s friends reveal all NHS treatments have failed and shockingly describe paying for special treatment – costing £25,000 – as her “last hope”.
They added, “She is in a very bad way, this is now our last hope. She has no energy and is taking each day as it comes.”
As Closer went to press, the page had received over £66,000 in donations, and it had been reported that Nikki will be going into a private treatment facility this week. Fans have sent an outpouring of support for the 38-year old, who first rose to fame in Big Brother 7 in 2006.
UPSETTING
CBB star Nicola McClean – who knows Nikki from the “Big Brother circuit” – tells Closer that she cried when she saw the images.
Nicola, 39, who has battled anorexia and bulimia since the age of 11 and was later diagnosed with body dysmorphia, says, “I’ve been desperately ill with an eating disorder myself but, even for me, as someone who has suffered, to see those images is just so upsetting. I cried.
“I know she’s fought this illness hard, because we have spoken to each other about it. I know she has desperately tried to beat this. It makes me so sad to see her this way because she will be devastated.”
Nikki has battled an eating disorder for over 20 years. While there were concerns over her small frame when she starred in Big Brother, just three years later, her weight plummeted to just 5½st.
In the grips of depression, Nikki overdosed on sleeping pills and was sectioned.
But in 2015, she told Closer she was feeling mentally stronger and healthy after moving to France to restart her life away from the limelight. She had reached 7st and her BMI was considered normal for her 5ft frame.
She talked about her hopes of finding love and starting her own family through “different ways” after anorexia had sadly left her infertile.
The TV star said, “I’m a healthy weight for the first time in my life. I’m so proud of myself”, after admitting she feared she would “starve myself to death” if she didn’t turn her life around.
But Nikki then moved back to the UK and last appeared on Sky Bingo series, The Large Ry-Union, alongside Rylan and her ex, Pete Bennett, just last month. She appeared to hide her deteriorating frame behind a roll-neck jumper and the show was filmed through Zoom.
Last month, professionals at the Eating Disorder
Faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists warned there had been a “tsunami” of new patients suffering with anorexia and bulimia, and eating disorder charity Beat told Closer they had seen an 81 per cent rise in calls to their helpline during the pandemic.
Nicola says, “I can totally understand why Nikki may have relapsed. The pandemic has been so horrific for anyone with that sort of mental illness, because eating disorders are an illness about control.”
Nicola reveals she also suffered a relapse with bulimia during the first lockdown, adding, “I felt like I had no control over anything I ate because I couldn’t go to the
shops to buy what I wanted because the shelves were bare.
“We couldn’t see loved ones and face-to-face therapy stopped. I can’t see how therapists weren’t classed as essential workers.”
❛ I JUST HOPE NIKKI KNOWS HOW
MUCH SHE IS LOVED ❜
EVERYDAY BATTLE
Nicola adds, “Not eating is not a quick-fix to losing weight and it shouldn’t be normalised in any way. It’s not self-love, it’s self-loathing.
“It’s an everyday battle for someone who suffers with an eating disorder. For anyone to think anorexia is a vanity thing or that you’re lucky to be able to control your weight, trust me, it’s one of the worst mental illnesses you can be dealt.”
FRIENDSHIP
For Nicola, the turning point was when she had her son Striker, now 11. At the time, she weighed just 6st and found it a struggle to pick him up from his cot. Fortunately, her sister staged an intervention by taking her to see professionals, and Nicola hopes Nikki’s friends’ fundraising will finally get her the help she so desperately needs.
Celebs such as radio host Vanessa Feltz and Drag Race star Michelle Visage have pledged their support – and donations – while Nikki’s fellow BB star and close friend Imogen Thomas said, “She is my best friend and I truly do love our friendship, and seeing how much you love her has been so touching.”
Nicola adds, “It’s hard to know how to help, but I just hope Nikki knows how much she is loved.”
By Lauren-Hill Roger