Nikki Grahame

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**Nikki Grahame**

Born:	April 28, 1982 Watford, Hertfordshire, England
Occupation:	Reality TV star

Nicola Rachele-Beth Grahame (born April 28, 1982) from Watford, Hertfordshire^[1] rose to fame in the UK when she was chosen to be a housemate on Big Brother 7 in 2006. She has since gone on to front her own reality television show entitled Princess Nikki.

1 Career
- 1.1 Big Brother
- 1.2 Recent work
2 Personal life
- 2.1 Mental health
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Career

Before Grahame rose to fame on Big Brother, she had appeared as a supporting artist in the BBC soap opera EastEnders,^[2] played a footballer's wife in Sky One's Dream Team^[3] and she was also a contestant on the ITV dating show Blind Date. However, the person she got matched with was not impressed with his pairing, commenting: "Everyone's got a right to be dozy, but Nikki abused it."^[4] In addition, Grahame, who has an NVQ in beauty therapy, also took part in the 2004 Miss Hertfordshire pageant, where she came fourth.^[4] Grahame had numerous jobs before she became publicly known, including working as a dancer, a promotions girl and a glamour model.^[3]

In August 2006, Grahame confessed to The News Of The World that she had previously been employed as a high-class escort or 'vice girl'. She alleged that one of her clients was the Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty. Despite being paid £500, she denies having sexual intercourse with him, claiming that as soon as she heard she was to have sex with him she quit immediately, and that he was too altered by drugs to perform anyway.^[5]

[edit] Big Brother

Nikki Grahame entered the Big Brother house dressed as a Playboy Bunny.

In May 2006 Grahame became one of the original contestants on the UK's seventh series of the popular reality television show Big Brother, entering the house wearing a pink playboy bunny outfit; an outfit that she had donned before whilst working as a promos girl on the London club circuit.^[6] While on the show she became known for her histrionics and becoming romantically linked to the eventual winner of Series 7, Pete Bennett.

Grahame was nominated for eviction four times during her initial stay in the Big Brother house and was eventually evicted on Day 58 with 37.2% of the public vote. However, less than four weeks after her exit, she was voted back into the 'House Next Door' by 63% of the voting public, along with three other ex-housemates. She was then chosen to return to the main house by the surviving contestants and despite the fact that she had already been evicted, she was reinstated as an eligible housemate and was once again given the opportunity to receive the £100,000 prize handed out to the winner;^[7] a controversial move that prompted 2,700 viewers to complain to the premium rate phone watchdog, Icstis.^[8] An Icstis regulator commented that the majority of complaining viewers believed that they were misled by the makers of Big Brother, as they were under the impression that they had voted to evict the ex-housemate permanently.^[8] In the wake of this, Icstis launched an inquiry which could have resulted in Channel 4 refunding an estimated £3 million to people who took part with phone or text votes.^[8] Despite Icstis ruling that Big Brother breached its guidelines and misled phone voters, Channel 4 was not made to refund viewers and was instead fined and forced to pay almost £50,000 in administrative costs.^[9]

In conjunction tabloid newspapers reported on an alleged betting scandal, after it was revealed that thousands of pounds were staked on Grahame to win even after she was initially evicted from the show. Several mystery big cash bets were reportedly placed on Grahame at 1,000-1 after her eviction, sparking fears that insiders knew she was going back into the house and decided to cash in.^[10]

Grahame subsequently finished in fifth place, with 6.5% of the final vote. The crowd response was less positive than it had been at her prior eviction, where she seemingly left to unanimous chanting and cheers. Host, Davina McCall, attempted to interview her but Grahame was reluctant to speak, claiming that she was scared and shocked by the "boos" from the crowd and she eventually requested to leave the stage. Grahame's live interview was subsequently cut short, but despite her initial request Grahame seemed apprehensive to depart and instead asked to see her "best bits" (a montage of clips of her time in the house). However, as this was her second eviction, no "best bits" had been prepared, and she was led off the stage.^[11]

Since the series final the Channel 4 chief, Kevin Lygo, has admitted that Big Brother executives feared Grahame would win — sparking further backlash from angry viewers.^[12] He added that the idea, which divided producers, was to spice up the “sometimes dull” final week.

[edit] Recent work

In between her two stays in the Big Brother House Grahame presented the Celebrity Spotting section on one episode of The Friday Night Project, which is normally presented by Debra Stephenson. Grahame has also co-presented alongside Iain Lee on several episodes of his show Celebrity Soup. The programme airs on the satellite channel E! Entertainment Television.^[13]

During the time after her first eviction a The Simple Life-Esq reality TV series was announced which Grahame would star. The programme followed her attempts to hold down an everyday job and was apparently inspired by her disastrous turn as a PA in a Big Brother task assigned to housemates. The show, Princess Nikki, premiered on E4 on 6 September and ran for 6 weeks.

Grahame won a National Television Award for Most Popular TV Contender on October 31, 2006, beating former boyfriend Pete Bennett, Chantelle Houghton, Richard Fleeshman and Carol Thatcher. Grahame was the only nominee from this category who wasn't a reality television show winner.

Grahame regularly makes personal appearances and she has hosted several nights at Bournemouth University's SU Club - The Old Fire station.^[14]

In December 2006 Grahame was voted the second Most Annoying Person Of 2006 in a BBC3 televised poll. In addition, Grahame was the 12th most 'written about' person of 2006 in the UK — according to Channel 4's 2006 Fame Review; a televised poll which equates fame to newspaper column inches.

From February 22, 2007 Grahame is to front a media campaign supporting the launch of Domino's Meateor Pizza.^[15] It includes TV, online and direct activity.

On March 24, 2007, Grahame appeared on a special "Goodies and Baddies" edition of the game show The Weakest Link. During round three, she was the strongest link of the team (answered the most questions correctly and earned the most money), but was voted out in round five after then becoming the weakest link of the team. The eventual winner of the episode was Alex Walkinshaw of the television programme The Bill, who won £9,450, giving it to an Essex based charity called "Kids in Need." The charity grants wishes for underprivileged, sick, or terminally ill children.

[edit] Personal life

Grahame with her former boyfriend, Pete Bennett at the Red Bull Air Race in Longleat (September 2006).

Grahame has been romantically linked to the model Calum Best and according to her former agent, Skye Butler, she slept with him on and off for six months, rather than once as she claims.^[16] While she was in Big Brother, Grahame reportedly confessed that she had once been involved with Jack Tweed, the lover of the Big Brother 3 finalist, Jade Goody. Their fling allegedly occurred before Goody and Tweed became a couple.^[17]

Grahame famously dated the winner of Big Brother 7, Pete Bennett. The duo's romance began in the last week of Big Brother, following Grahame's return to the show.^[18] However in September 2006 she went public with the news that Bennett had made the decision to end their relationship, just over a month after it began.^[19] Bennett told her that he found it tough having a relationship in the spotlight and just wanted to be friends. Grahame commented "I still want to be with him. Sadly he doesn't want to be with me. I will just have to accept that. I have to let go."^[20]

Most recently Grahame has been romantically linked to the singer, Duncan James but, according to The People newspaper, she was dumped in December 2006 due to her infamous "strops" and because she "was way too emotionally unbalanced for him".^[21] However in the January 23, 2007 issue of heat magazine, James stated that no such relationship had occurred.^[22] Nikki is currently dating Guy Mesigan, a personal fitness trainer. It was reported in late February that while holidaying in Gran Canaria, Nikki had suffered two broken bones due to a television falling on her foot. She sought medical attention and ended up in crutches. ^[23]

[edit] Mental health

During her stay in the Big Brother house, tabloid newspapers revealed that Grahame had battled with the eating disorder anorexia for the majority of her adolescence, and had attempted suicide by taking an overdose of paracetamol several times.^[24] The programme's decision to include a contestant with prior mental health issues was criticised in the media, with experts suggesting that she should not have been allowed to take part.^[25]

Grahame has spoken candidly about her battles with anorexia, which she has struggled with since the age of eight. She has admitted that she starved herself until, at the age of 16, she weighed less than five stone and went into an anorexia-induced coma because she refused to eat, commenting: “I was on a mission to starve myself to death. I was obsessed.”^[26] She attributes her illness to the deterioration of her parents marriage, her grandfather's death and as a means of gaining control.^[26] Grahame has also admitted that, while she was overcoming her eating disorder, she developed obsessive-compulsive disorder (in her case involving a chronic fear of germs), which she still battles with today.^[27]