Advertisement

Nikki Grahame's fundraiser page reopened to help pay for funeral

The GoFundMe page set up by friends of Nikki Grahme has been reopened. (Getty/Mike Marsland/Mike Marsland/WireImage)
A GoFundMe page set up by friends of Nikki Grahame has been reopened. (Getty/Mike Marsland/Mike Marsland/WireImage)

A GoFundMe page originally set up by Nikki Grahame's friends to pay for her eating-disorder treatment is taking donations again to help fund her funeral.

The page was started back in March to raise funds for private treatment for the Big Brother contestant after her eating disorder worsened in lockdown, with the page describing her as being in a "very bad way".

Donations were turned off last week after Grahame died at the age of 38 on Friday.

Watch: Former Big Brother star Nikki Grahame has died aged 38

Read more: Michelle Heaton apologises for not visiting Nikki Grahame in her final days

In a new post to the page on Tuesday from her friends Carly Cunningham and Leon Dee, a message read: "We just wanted to let you know that we are turning donations back on for anyone that would like to make a donation in Nikki's memory, as lots of people have been asking if they can still donate.

Nikki Grahame attends OK! Magazine's 25th Anniversary Party at The View from The Shard on March 21, 2018 in London, England.  (Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage)
Nikki Grahame attends OK! Magazine's 25th-anniversary party in 2018 in London, England. (Mike Marsland/WireImage)

"An amount will be used for the funeral costs and the remaining funds will be used to go towards an organisation that helps those suffering with eating disorders, the crucial funding that has been lacking to help people in these awful situations has not been addressed, we will use this money to the best of our ability to try and stem this horrific, debilitating illness."

“We also would like to thank people who have sent private messages with lovely words about Nikki, she would be so thankful.”

A total of £69,000 has been raised so far.

Grahame had been open about her decades-long battle with anorexia and penned two autobiographies, Dying To Be Thin and Fragile, that addressed the subject.

Read more: Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff opens up on battle with bulimia

The reality star's mother Susan appeared on This Morning two weeks ago to talk about how her daughter's illness had been exacerbated by the coronavirus lockdown, with isolation and the closure of gyms affecting her.

Tributes poured out for Grahame after her death, with former housemate and ex-partner Pete Bennett speaking movingly about her on Good Morning Britain.

Watch: Pete Bennett discusses Nikki Grahame's death on GMB

With additional reporting by PA.