By BRYONY JEWELL and NIOMI HARRIS FOR MAILONLINE 22:15 10 Apr 2021, updated 09:58 11 Apr 2021 Nikki Grahame cuddled up to her Big Brother ex Pete Bennett in a haunting final photo of her

shared publicly, after he visited her just weeks before her death aged 38. The star, who alongside Pete rose to fame on the seventh series of Big Brother in 2006, passed away in the early

hours of Friday morning - just one month after her friends started a GoFundMe page for anorexia treatment.  It comes after Nikki admitted that she was struggling to 'deal' with

another coronavirus lockdown in what was to be her final social media post.  In the weeks before her tragic death, Nikki's former boyfriend Pete, 39, who she met in the Big Brother

still cuddling to this day :). 'Remember the fundraiser to help get her into a specialist anorexia clinic is in my bio! #savenikkig.' The pair fell for each other in the house and

enjoyed a brief romance after leaving the show. Big Brother winner Pete called off their romance after just a month, but the pair remained friends. In June last year, Nikki opened up about

her relationship with Pete, noting that she 'loved him' at the time but it was 'never meant to be'.  She said: 'I hated it when I realised I was falling in love with

Pete Bennett. It was never meant to be. But I loved him at the time. Truly, it was special.'  Meanwhile, the TV star complained about the UK entering another national lockdown back in

November, as she told her followers that she 'seriously can't deal' with it.  Alongside a video montage of some of her infamous tantrums in the Big Brother house, she wrote:

'My reaction to the second national lockdown announcement.' In her caption, she added: 'Not this again....seriously can’t deal #lockdown #f**kcovid19 #fml.'  Just two

weeks ago Nikki's mother claimed her daughter's 30-year battle with anorexia nervosa worsened because of the coronavirus pandemic. During an interview on This Morning, Susan

Grahame, 66, revealed the Big Brother icon struggled with the isolation periods and gym closures brought by the nationwide lockdowns, admitting: 'COVID-19 really put the cap on

it.' On how her daughter took a turn for the worse amid the global crisis, Susan told hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby: 'I think last year really put the cap on it with

Covid.  'It sounds crazy but even stuff like gyms closing, which is quite important to Nikki as she needs to know she can exercise.     'The isolation, she couldn't see

anyone. I offered to stay with her but she said ''I need to stay in my own home''. It's been really hard for her, really hard.  'She had terminal loneliness...

she was cut off, spending too much time on her own, and nothing to think about other than food.'  Susan also insisted the Northwood native was getting back on track before the pandemic,

sharing: 'It all came to a grinding halt.    'With Nikki, she would get through the year knowing she had friends abroad and would visit them, and she spent a lot of time last year

cancelling all her holidays.'  Admitting that she was initially apprehensive about the fundraiser set up friends of her daughter's to raise funds for Nikki's treatment, Susan

said: 'It was run by me a day or two before by Nikki's friends. I was apprehensive.  WHAT IS ANOREXIA? Anorexia is a serious mental illness where a person restricts their food

intake, which often causes them to be severely underweight. Many also exercise excessively. Some sufferers may experience periods of bingeing, followed by purging.  Sufferers often have a

distorted view of themselves and think they are larger than they really are. Untreated, patients can suffer loss of muscle and bone strength, as well as depression, low libido and

menstruation ceasing in women. In severe cases, patients can experience heart problems and organ damage. Behavioural signs of anorexia include people saying they have already eaten or will

do later, as well as counting calories, missing meals, hiding food and eating slowly. As well as weight loss, sufferers may experience insomnia, constipation, bloating, feeling cold, hair

loss, and swelling of the hands, face and feet. Treatment focuses on therapy and self-help groups to encourage healthy eating and coping mechanisms. Source: Beat Eating Disorders 'First

of all we were desperate, we haven't had much help with the NHS, we had one place, she had been failed there five or six times.  'I was worried that appeal, Nikki would come in

for attack, with saying she was attention seeking, people could be nasty and she doesn't need that. 'I spoke to her and she said, ''please stress how overwhelmed I am by

people's kindness, tell everyone I'm going to try my level best to beat this, I'm going to get my life back''. 'It's so frightening for an anorexic because

if they start to eat normally, it's gonna go out of their control. She felt it was the one thing that she could keep control over with everything going around her.  'When she

started to get sick, she would be like, ''don't be upset, look how well I'm doing''. It was like she was trying to divert the attention.'   Nikki's

sad death was confirmed online by her friend Leon Dee on Saturday.  A statement on the GoFundMe page read: 'It is with great sadness, we have to let you know that our dear friend Nikki

passed away in the early hours of Friday 9th April. 'It breaks our hearts to know that someone who is so precious was taken from us at such a young age. 'Nikki not only touched the

lives of millions of people, but also her friends and family who will miss her immensely. 'We would like to request privacy at this difficult time, while Nikki's friends and

family process the sad news. Full details will be released as and when we know them. 'All donations have been greatly appreciated and it was heartwarming for everyone including Nikki to

see how much she was loved.' A BIG BROTHER ICON: NIKKI GRAHAME'S BEST BITS ON THE HIT REALITY SHOW Get her some BOTTLED water! Early on into her stay in the Big Brother house,

Nikki was suffering from a migraine and only bottled water would help make it budge.  She said: 'I need water, I'm not drinking that tap stuff, it's absolutely disgusting, I

actually haven't got energy to talk to you I feel so dehydrated.' Despite being reassured the water had been filtered twice in the house, Nikki was still not having any of it and

burst into tears. She said: 'I'm not enjoying it, I'm not. I hate it, I f*****g hate it!' The stolen bed A tipsy Nikki also ensured to command attention after repeating

'that's my bed' several times when she found another contestant in her bed. Sitting in the infamous gold chair she told BB: 'Someones stolen Nikki's bed, it's

my bed I don't like it and I just don't like it'  During the rant, Nikki was dressed in suspenders following a challenge the housemates were set.   Air con woes The star

always seemed to be cold in the Big Brother house and arguing with others over the temperature setting on the air con. After wrapping up as well as she could, Nikki asked BB: 'How are

we supposed to get out of bed in the morning with the f*****g air con?  'It's a blizzard, I'm going to catch a cold' The cornflakes Nikki was left very unimpressed after

housemate Richard Newman finished off the cornflakes - and told her there was porridge oats she could have instead. She explained: 'He's had four bowls of Cornflakes yesterday!

Four! And they're not just normal bowls, they're f*****g mountains of Cornflakes!  'Like a mountain, and a whole bag of sugar. We're going to run out of sugar.' Who

is SHE?  Perhaps Nikki's most iconic moment came after housemate Susie Verrico put her up for eviction and the star stormed into the diary room. Arriving in her bikini, Nikki fumed

about Susie decision despite 'not even knowing her', telling BB that she was feeling 'very venomous and angry'. Nikki's next line cemented her in reality show

history - and provided plenty of memes in years to come - as she said: 'Who is she? Who is she? Who is she? Where did you find her? And Nikki ended the rant with: 'I can feel the

venom pouring out of me as I breathe. I hate her, I tell you now. I'm going to find it very difficult to be pleasant to it. I don't even want to look at it.'   A statement

from Nikki's representative shared on Saturday said: 'It is with immeasurable sadness that Nikki Grahame passed away in the early hours of Friday 9th April 2021. Please respect the

privacy of Nikki's friends and family at this tragic and difficult time.' It is believed that the star was released from hospital in Devon a day before her tragic death.  Nikki

appeared on the seventh series of Big Brother UK in 2006, in which she finished in fifth place, and had developed an eating disorder as a child. Just last month Nikki's pals had

launched a fundraised to try and gather funds for her to receive specialist treatment, managing to reach a total of £65,539. The original page read: 'She has been battling for most of

her life and as you can see, Nikki is now in a very bad way so we need to do something quickly. 'Over the past years Nikkis family and friends have tried so desperately to get Nikki all

the help possible through the NHS but unfortunately the treatments have failed and we have exhausted every avenue possible, and now Nik is unfortunately in a very bad way, this is now our

last hope. 'This is why we feel that getting her treatment in a specialist clinic is the only option left for her. Nikki's friend, TV presenter Rylan Clark-Neal, also appealed to

his followers to help with donations. Rylan, who won Celebrity Big Brother 11, said on Twitter: 'This is v hard to read but sharing with permission. If some of the family could help in

any way I know it would be greatly appreciated. Sending love x.' (sic)  A further update revealed that Nikki was set to start treatment in mid-March.   A source told MailOnline at the

time: 'Nikki would like to thank each and every single person for their kind and generous donations.  'She has seen the wonderful messages and wishes pouring in both personally and

through her GoFundMe Page and has nothing but gratitude.  'On hitting the GoFundMe target last weekend, those close to her started the long, and at times difficult, though always

productive process of finding Nikki the best possible facility and care she requires.' They added: 'Due to the incredible donations received we're pleased to report that a

private facility which is able to admit her has been found and her road to recovery will begin from Monday (22 March).'   The TV star began suffering from anorexia aged eight, and has

never had a period or produced eggs which would allow her to conceive due to her condition. After first being admitted to an eating disorder unit at the age of eight, she was force-fed

through a tube, and has caused long-term damage to her oesophagus from years of purging.  The TV star was always incredibly open about her anorexia, often appearing on TV to speak about her

experiences as well as chronicling them in her books.   Speaking with the Daily Mail in 2008, Nikki revealed that she spent the majority of her childhood in different institutions including

the Maudsley, Hillingdon Hospital and children's psychiatric unit Collingham Gardens in London. She was then admitted to Great Ormond Street and treated there for two tears before being

placed into care.  Nikki detailed how she during one stay at an unnamed unit she was: 'shoved in a cubicle'.  She said: 'I had to use a bed pan, have bed baths and it was

just awful. I just sat in a cubicle for 24 hours a day with no stimulation. I sat there like that for three months.' She also detailed how she was force-fed by nurses and by a tube

inserted into her stomach which she would rip out. Reflecting on a low point in her teenage years ahead of being admitted to Huntercombe Hospital in Maidenhead, Nikki said: 'I was a

walking skeleton. I was 15 years old and weighed 4st 3½lb.' She was there for eight months and put on 6½lb before trying to overdose, reports the paper.  In 2011, Nikki suffered a

relapse after reducing her daily intake to just 400 calories. In the wake of the news, a host of names, including BB hosts Davina McCall and Rylan Clark-Neal, took to social media to share

their sadness over Nikki's death.    Rebeckah Vaughan, who competed in the 2011 series, added: 'I wasn't in Nikki's series of Big Brother but our paths crossed after my

series.  'She came across as so fragile. She was a true big brother icon and I'm so sad for all her friends and family. rest in peace Nikki x'  And Channel 4, which aired Big

Brother when Nikki appeared as a contestant, said in a statement: 'We are desperately saddened by the tragic news about Nikki Grahame and our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with

Nikki's family and friends. For anyone suffering with eating disorders, help is available.'  Nikki appeared on the seventh series of Big Brother UK in 2006, finishing in fifth

place. She returned to the show in 2010 for the Ultimate Big Brother series.   After entering the house dressed as a Playboy bunny, Nikki quickly became known for her temper tantrums and

Diary Room histrionics, including the now infamous 'who is she?' rant.  Nikki was evicted on day 58, but went back into the house after the remaining contestants picked her to

return. After Big Brother, she bagged her own reality show, Princess Nikki, which saw her attempt to keep various jobs.  She also appeared on a slew of shows including Celebrity

Scissorhands, 8 Out Of 10 Cats and The Weakest Link, and a Channel 4 poll named her the 12th most 'written about' person of 2006 in the UK. Prior to Big Brother, Nikki, then an

aspiring actress, appeared as an extra in the BBC soap opera EastEnders and played a footballer's wife in Sky One's Dream Team. She also appeared as a contestant on ITV dating show

Blind Date and competed in the 2004 Miss Hertfordshire pageant. Nikki also won a National Television Award for most popular TV contender and published two books, the autobiographies Dying

To Be Thin and Fragile.   For help and support with eating disorders contact SEED on (01482) 718130 or visit www.seedeatingdisorders.org.uk