Big Brother Gossip #3

[tarahalls]

I’m shocked Nikki passed the psych evaluation to appear on BB in the first place. She was one of my favourite housemates & it’s beyond sad that someone who gave us so much entertainment was in so much pain. To think she died alone is just heartbreaking

 

[queencarmen]

I’m shocked Nikki passed the psych evaluation to appear on BB in the first place. She was one of my favourite housemates & it’s beyond sad that someone who gave us so much entertainment was in so much pain. To think she died alone is just heartbreaking

She actually failed the psych test the first time she applied (for bb5 I think) but the second time she left out all the info about her eating disorder and lied on the tests etc

 

[tarahalls]

That makes sense! Thanks

 

[Warriorqueen]

‘Psych test’ is a phrase I’d use loosely along with ‘social experiment’.

 

[tarahalls]

‘Psych test’ is a phrase I’d use loosely along with ‘social experiment’.

I’m sure that was the intention of the first show & then the contestants got wise on how to play for airtime & make a few quid & the producers worked out how they could expose & exploit them as the series went on. The first series were the best because the contestants seemed most genuine! I’ve not watched it for years tho tbh

 

[Warriorqueen]

I’m sure that was the intention of the first show & then the contestants got wise on how to play for airtime & make a few quid & the producers worked out how they could expose & exploit them as the series went on. The first series were the best because the contestants seemed most genuine! I’ve not watched it for years tho tbh

I agree, after that first series it evolved into a monster.

 

[Ginnyjo]

was the "documentary" pulled from All4? I saw it up earlier as the headline programme but it's unavailable now if you search it?

 

[Warriorqueen]

was the "documentary" pulled from All4? I saw it up earlier as the headline programme but it's unavailable now if you search it?

It appears to have been. Quite possibly the ethical issues mentioned earlier are being scrutinized.

 

[Asparagus123]

I recorded the program and watched it this morning I have seen a few people say it’s been removed
It was just so sad and just shows how we really don’t know what people are going through underneath a bubbly persona
I’m glad I watched it as it really showed what a life long battle anorexia is

 

[Echo]

I watched the documentary last night and it was so heartbreaking
Anorexia hits close to home for me as my sister has had it since she was in her early teens (amongst other MH issues) and the helplessness you feel is torture. It’s the one year anniversary of Nikki’s passing today

 

[Lurkiemurkie]

It was an absolutely heartbreaking thing to watch especially as she had so many people who loved her but her demons were just too big.

 

[Prince fan 1999]

I’m shocked Nikki passed the psych evaluation to appear on BB in the first place. She was one of my favourite housemates & it’s beyond sad that someone who gave us so much entertainment was in so much pain. To think she died alone is just heartbreaking

I honestly think back then,it wasn't so strict. If she'd applied today,no way would she have been allowed to take part.

 

[nik1231]

Yes I agree. But surely there has to be something missing from the documentary, she surely can't have been alone I guess I just don't WANT to believe it.

This is what I find confusing. She had such a strong support team, where were they all?

 

[Flowerpotgirl]

Hopefully this will clear some things up. Leon posted this last night. As someone who supported Nikki’s go fund me (and knew her) the truth about her exploitation needs to come out. And yes, she absolutely should’ve been on a DoL (deprivation of liberty) and treated on a gastro ward. She has been massively let down.

Edit: just to add I haven’t and can’t watch that documentary


Todayby Leon Dee, Team Member
Edit: I posted this last night before the documentary aired, but it was removed. I have made minor adjustments in the hope that those who missed it yesterday, will get a chance to read it again today.

TRIGGER WARNING:

I know that all of you reading this wanted to see Nikki get better. So I would like to address a few things and detail the difficulties we had trying to get Nikki the help she so desperately needed.

There are many families sadly going through similar struggles right now and need all the help they can get. I feel more awareness needs to be brought to attention of how difficult it is to help a person with an eating disorder that is out of control. Hopefully I can do that from here.

From the time of making this fundraising page until the very end, Nikki had not been treated by anyone for her eating disorder.

The Nightingale Hospital had a 3 month waiting list. Myself and 5 other of Nikki's friends worked around the clock trying to find alternative clinics, or somewhere for her to go until a bed became available there.

Nikki’s health had deteriorated so much that no other clinic would accept her, because her BMI was at a critical level. They all suggested that we take Nikki to a hospital ASAP.

The main issue was that Nikki had been fully consumed by the Anorexia Nervosa, and didn’t want to go to hospital. She was so worried about being tube fed.

Paramedics would be called to her flat, but all she had to do was tell them she was fine, and they would have to leave. She could not be weighed without giving consent.

We called a Crisis Hotline and they informed us that Nikki could not be sectioned as she had only just been discharged from a previous section. The best advice the Crisis Team could give us was to take Nikki to hospital immediately.

Nikki had to go to hospital out of her own free will and convincing her was not easy. But I knew there was a part of her that wanted to get her life back, because she was the one who asked me for help in the first place (I suggested that we make a fundraiser but I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. Nikki called me the next day saying it was a great idea and to make it straight away, and with help from another friend of Nikki, that’s what we did).

Eventually after visiting Nikki at her flat, I discussed with her about going elsewhere until a bed became available at The Nightingale Hospital, and explained that no other clinics were willing to take her as she was critical and in need of refeeding.

The only other option aside from going to hospital, would be to go to Vincent Square, the nearest NHS clinic in London. Nikki agreed to go there as long as it was temporary until The Nightingale became available.

Within a few days the plan had changed. An Industry Professional told me Nikki was now going to The Recover Centre who were able to take her straight away. I explained that Nikki needed refeeding but I was assured this new clinic did "all of that". I was asked to update the GoFundMe page to announce the new plan, which I did.

A few days after posting the update, we realised the Recover Centre was only a day centre, with no refeeding facilities, which meant Nikki's meals would not be monitored and she could continue to use her exercise machine at home.

In the following days, I was informed that Nikki had lost her eyesight for nearly half an hour whilst suffering a painful headache, which suggested that her sodium levels were critically low. I managed to visit her that evening and told her I was going to call 999 and she needed to get into the ambulance with me. Nikki told me she couldn’t because it had been arranged for a TV Production Company to film her last moments with a terminally ill relative the next day.

I couldn’t believe that Nikki had been convinced to take part in a documentary which would be filming her spiral out of control for entertainment purposes. Especially since she was vulnerable and in need of immediate medical attention.

I was later contacted and asked to take part in the documentary. I declined and stressed that the main priority should be getting Nikki into hospital, not filming her mental and physical health deteriorate for a TV show.

I explained that Anorexia is a delicate subject that has to be handled carefully. I was also curious whether a psych evaluation had been performed on Nikki prior to filming her...

Our last attempt to take Nikki to hospital was after she was turned away by the Recover Clinic for being too ill, as we predicted. We found out that a cab had been booked to send Nikki 150 miles away from her flat in London, for more filming commitments.

Myself and the other friend of Nikki, scrambled to see Nikki before the cab arrived to try and convince her one last time to come with us to the hospital. She finally agreed to come, but was worried she'd get in trouble for messing up the filming session. Nikki said we need to call the Industry Professional to inform them about the change of plan.

The other friend of Nikki spoke to the Industry Professional but was told to stop interfering and to stay out of it.

That was the last time I saw her.

Nikki ended up getting in that cab, and suffered a very serious back injury after stopping off at a chemist during the journey. She was filmed being taken away by the ambulance by the TV Production Company.

Nikki DID finally end up in hospital but was not being seen there for her eating disorder; only for her back injury. Her meals were not being monitored and she told us that she was able to hide her food in bags without any staff knowing.

Permission was not given to film in the hospital so Nikki had been convinced to send personal recordings of herself via her phone instead.

Because of my experiences outlined above, I declined to take part in the new documentary and denied them permission to use my name.

I don't know how, but something needs to change so that a person, whose BMI is at a critical life threatening level can be sectioned in order to get the help they need, as well as needing an improvement in medical monitoring and GP guidance in eating disorders.

Also I believe something also needs to happen to protect people from having their mental health exploited by the entertainment industry. Especially when they don't understand the illness they are covering.

Thank you for your time.
Leon

This is sad beyond anything I could have even imagined. Thank you for trying your best for her.

 

[S4buk]

I honestly think back then,it wasn't so strict. If she'd applied today,no way would she have been allowed to take part.

i think it was a lot worse during the C5 days. Didn’t a bunch of celebrities who failed the C4 psych tests end up on C5 CBB? I think Daniella Westbrook and Kerry Katona were a couple of them.

 

[Pennypennypenny]

I kind of understand why Pete didn’t take part in the docu, well I say this only because I have a feeling her mum and friends were not keen but I can’t understand why Davina didn’t take part.

 

[Warpaint]

Maybe looking back it's all a bit of a tarnished legacy so everyone is gradually distancing. Even that show they did in lockdown seemed a really weird look back on it all. Like they pretended some of the series over the years didn't even exist.

 

[ahtisyourself]

Maybe looking back it's all a bit of a tarnished legacy so everyone is gradually distancing. Even that show they did in lockdown seemed a really weird look back on it all. Like they pretended some of the series over the years didn't even exist.

Yeah like am I wrong or did they not even reference BB5 or fight night? It’s a bit of a poisoned chalice at this stage I think

 

[Warpaint]

Yeah like am I wrong or did they not even reference BB5 or fight night? It’s a bit of a poisoned chalice at this stage I think

Yeah they didn't mention it once. There were others they skipped as well. Then it ended up a load of random CBB episodes. Seems like they started what could have been a good look back with an episode from each series but gave up from the off

 

[ahtisyourself]

Seems like everything has to be so sanitised now. So a few people had a barney on tv, who gives a shite?! No one died ffs. Ridiculous that they wouldn’t reference it