"Nikki was ditching her lunch every day, I had no idea."
Nikki Grahame's mother Sue has spoken out about her daughter's anorexia, and how it has unfortunately "spiralled" since the beginning of the pandemic.
Nikki, who rose to fame following her appearance on Big Brother 7, has spoken publicly about her mental health struggles in the past. She is now receiving specialist treatment for her illness.
Mother Sue told This Morning that Nikki's anorexia got significantly worse during lockdown, due to the lack of routine, the closure of gyms, and the loneliness that came with social distancing and strict Covid measures.
"When the gyms closed it was quite a worry," Sue said. "The isolation has been really hard for her, really hard. She felt very cut off and spending too much time on her own with not enough to think about other than food and, that took a grip as well."
Sue added that she spoke to her daughter this morning, and that the star mentioned the support she has been receiving from her family and friends, as well as her fans too.
Sue said: "I spoke to Nikki this morning and she said, 'Mum, please stress how overwhelmed I am at people's kindness towards me'.
"She said, 'Tell everybody that I'm going to try my level best this time to beat this. I want to get my life back'."
Friends of Nikki's r
ecently set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to get the star professional hep. On the page, they wrote that Nikki is "now in a very bad way so we need to do something quickly." (Warning: the images included in the page may upset some readers).
"At the moment, Nikki constantly feels weak and is struggling on a day to day basis," they said. "She feels trapped and really wants to get better but feels like it’s impossible. It’s heart-breaking and we desperately just want a healthy and well Nikki back with us. She has no energy and is taking each day as it comes.
"Mental health, as so many of you know, is debilitating in many ways. We want to help save our friend from letting this Illness beat her. If you are able to donate anything then we would be extremely grateful."
The fundraiser, which Nikki has given her full support to, has at the time of writing already raised over £68,000. Organisers have since thanked the public for their support, which will ensure Nikki gets the help she needs.
"If you do see the signs, if they become very withdrawn for no apparent reason, if they start to wear baggy clothes and obviously if they start to loose weight," Sue added today. "Nikki was ditching her lunch every day, I had no idea - try and get help as soon as possible.
"Poor Nikki, she suffered so bad because back in the day - going back 31 years - at that time, people found it hard to believe that an eight year old could be a victim of this.
"There weren't the kind of units, there wasn't the kind of treatment there is now."
If you have been affected by any of the details of this story, you can contact BodyWhys on (01) 2107906 or email alex@bodywhys.ie. 
