Linda Sims, 82, has played a huge role in former TOWIE star Joey Essex’s life after his mum tragically took her life when he was 10.
She’s now stuck without heating or hot water due to her broken boiler, but getting it fixed hasn’t been an easy job to turn around.
One of Linda’s grandchildren, Frankie Sims, took to social media to share her frustrations over the issue as she wrote: “My Nan has no heating for over 4 WEEKS!!!!!!
“It’s vile… when temperatures are this low!”
In response, Redbridge council said there had been a “higher than usual volume of call-outs” as they arranged for a new time to fit the boiler.
All the family shares utter adoration for nan Linda online, and viewers have grown fond of her too after watching her pop up in TOWIE.
Joey has opened up about how his nan has been there for him, particularly as a young child, with the star opening up about grief in his documentary, Joey Essex: Grief and Me, which aired on BBC Three this summer.
Joey, 31, spoke about losing his mum at the age of 10 when she took her own life, and the anxiety he still deals with on a day-to-day basis.
He spoke to counsellors about his grief for the first time and also talked to Linda about how he can’t watch home videos from his childhood.
Linda is Joey’s maternal grandmother and she has plenty of pictures of her late daughter Tina on the walls of her home.
In the documentary, Joey says: “I remember the day when I got told my mum was gone.
“I remember my dad bending down and grabbing my head and telling me my mum was gone.
“I’ll never forget that. I remember it like it was yesterday.”
Speaking of his grief, Joey said: “It’s been hard going through this whole process, but I feel a massive weight has lifted off my shoulders.
“I know I’ll never get over the trauma, but I’m just proud and glad I’ve started to face it.”
Glamorous gran Linda often appears on TOWIE and recently celebrated her granddaughter Chloe’s 40th birthday.
Joey’s cousins Frankie, Demi and Charlie also appear on TOWIE and Linda has often been celebrated by her granddaughters on social media.
Although active on Instagram and despite her grandchildren’s fame, Linda remains very discreet.
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
For more of the latest showbiz news from Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
