TV personality and model, Nikki Grahame, is to be commemorated in a new documentary on Channel 4.
The former Big Brother contestant died in April 2021 and the new 60-minute one-off documentary will celebrate her life and work with archive footage, home movies, and interviews with her loved ones.
"Nikki was so much more than a reality TV contestant and I am looking forward to celebrating her short life in this documentary," said her mother, Sue Grahame. "It will be tough, but Nikki was one special girl - kind and smart with the biggest heart."
Who is Nikki Grahame?
Nikki Grahame, born on 28th April 1982 in Watford, UK, was a British TV personality, model and author.
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Grahame was known for her appearance on Big Brother in 2006, where she was soon recognised by her temper tantrums and Diary Room rants; her 'who is she' rant became famous.
Before appearing on the reality TV show, Grahame, an aspiring actress, appeared as an extra on Eastenders and played a footballer's wife in Dream Team.
She also competed on ITV's Blind Date in 2004 and competed in Miss Hertfordshire that same year.
What did Nikki Grahame die of?
On 9th April 2021, aged 38, Grahame lost her long battle with the serious eating disorder, anorexia. Reports say the actual cause of death is complications related to the disease.
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Grahame had been battling the eating disorder for more than 30 years and she reached crisis point during the third national lockdown in the UK.
The new Channel 4 documentary will reveal the complexities of anorexia and the impact this cruel and misunderstood disease can have on the sufferer's loved ones too.
Grahame spoke about her battles with the eating disorder in her books, Dying To Be Thin: The True Story Of My Lifelong Battle Against Anorexia (2009) and Fragile: The True Story Of My Lifelong Battle Against Anorexia (2009).
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In her books, she describes how her eating disorder stems from being accepted into a competitive gymnastics team. One girl told her in the changing rooms that she had a "big bum" and this was part of a chain of events which made Grahame feel self-conscious and a need to be perfect.
"Being the way I was, I couldn't be happy unless I was the best in the squad and unfortunately there were girls there who were clearly better than me," she wrote in Fragile. "One of the other girls was standing behind me, staring at me, when she suddenly said, 'Haven't you got a big bum, Nikki?'"
"And I guess that's how it all began. Somewhere in my seven year old brain, I started to think that to be better at gymnastics and to be more popular, I had to be thin," she explained.
"And because I didn't just want to be better than I was at gymnastics, but to be the best, then I couldn't just be skinny. Oh no, I would have to be the skinniest," she added.
When is the Nikki Grahame documentary out on Channel 4?
A release date hasn't been set for the documentary yet, but we'll let you know as soon as there's an update.
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Channel 4 announced the news that they had commissioned the documentary on 16th August, so we expect to see it coming to our screens later this year, or if not, in early-2022.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: TV and Film, Channel 4