Big Brother's devastating tragedies – death, 'homeless' and 'banned from hometown'

Big Brother first exploded onto screens way back in 2000 and launched the careers of several household names including Alison Hammond, Jade Goody and Josie Gibson.

Following their stints on the show, several housemates managed to bag themselves rather luxurious showbiz careers.

But others have met tragic demises and heartbreaks – with some of the Channel 4 show’s best-loved stars battling hate, mental illness, and dying young.

READ MORE: ‘Big Brother gave me a lifeline but was worse than being sectioned,’ says Gail Porter

A tragic example of this is one of the show’s most famous housemates, Nikki Grahame, who died on April 9 following a battle with anorexia, just weeks before her 39th birthday.

Nikki was loved by viewers and known for her tantrums and diary room outbursts including her famous “who is she?” rant, and helped make the seventh series of Big Brother one of the best.

But Nikki’s story is not the only tragic journey to have come out of Big Brother.

From being “banned from hometowns” and the victim of a conman to heartbreaking health battles and “having no money” – Daily Star is taking a look inside Big Brother’s biggest tragedies.

Jade Goody

Jade Goody became one of Big Brother’s biggest stars after appearing in the third series of the show.

The nation fell in in love with her, who came fourth in the series – but in 2007 when she appeared in the celebrity version of the show – she was evicted after racially abusing Indian actress Shilpa Shetty.

Jade apologised to Shilpa before taking part in the Indian version of Celebrity Big Brother in 2008 – but the former dental nurse had to pull out of the show after she was told she had cervical cancer.

After chemotherapy was unsuccessful, Jade died the next year.

Her mum Jackiey Budden later told in a Channel 4 documentary that Jade thought her ­cancer could be a punishment for her controversial Celebrity Big Brother appearance

She recalled: “One night she felt really scared because, obviously, she knew she was going very soon.

“She said, ‘Mum I feel like they’re coming to get me. They’re coming to get me. It’s going all dark’.

“She said, ‘Is that because I was so bad in Big Brother?’.”

Nichola Holt

Artist Nichola Holt made headlines around the time of her BB appearance for stripping naked to make clay imprints of her body on the walls of the house.

The star has since opened up about how the aftermath of the show was “very traumatic”, admitting to Manchester Evening News: “My whole world came crashing down on me, there were so many vultures.

“I believe you should take chances in life, but some chances ruin your life.”

She added: “We were edited to make it look like we were absolute fools. I was edited to be someone I’m not.”

At the time, it was reported Nichola was “banned from Bolton” by her parents after they saw her exploits on the show.

Nicola admitted she had “no money” after she was “thrown out of the house”, and forced to stay with friends who lived in the area.

Nikki Grahame

In 2020 Nikki sadly passed away aged just 38 after battling with anorexia.

She shot to fame on the seventh series of Big Brother UK in 2006, in which she finished in fifth place and later starred in her own reality series Princess Nikki.

At the time of her death, a representative shared: “It is with immeasurable sadness that Nikki Grahame passed away in the early hours of Friday, April 9 2021.”

In the same year she died, her close friends had raised over £70,000 for her treatment after her anorexia worsened in lockdown.

Unfortunately, Nikki had been in hospital for three weeks but died less than 24 hours after she was discharged.

Makosi

Makosi shot to fame in 2005 when she appeared on the iconic Channel 4 reality show.

On the show, she made it to third place losing the top spot to Anthony Hutton who she famously got frisky with in the hot tub.

Many will remember the hot and heavy TV moment which ended up with her asking for a pregnancy test – although some years later, she admitted it was all part of her game plan.

But years later after her controversial stint in the Big Brother house, she was dealt a heartbreaking blow when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017.

Speaking to OK! magazine, she said: “So what happened is that I had breast cancer in 2017. And I had a mastectomy and chemotherapy.

“I lost my hair and I almost lost my identity. And when I was doing my radiation, I was looking for that thing to give me back my confidence again.

“Because at this point you’re looking in the mirror, you’re bald and you don’t know who this new person is. Where did the confidence go? Where did the courage go? Where did the lioness in me go?”

Fortunately, all appears to be well for Makosi as she now seems to live a charmed life in Dubai, the millionaires’ playground brimming with glitz and glamour.

Lisa Appleton

Lisa Appleton and Mario Marconi entered the Big Brother house as a couple.

When she came out, it seemed she had hit the big time after now-convicted conman Selva Carmichael duped them into believing they had a string of deals on the horizon.

Carmichael filmed the duo for six months pretending they had landed their own TV show as well as a lucrative magazine deal, a charity single and meetings with Hollywood script writers.

The footage has never been released due to legal reasons.

Opening up about being duped, Lisa told Daily Star Online: “The show includes footage from the fly-on-the wall documentary that we shot when we were getting conned.

“Selva was nothing more than a conman. When he disappeared we were penniless and homeless, we had nothing. We had banked on the show to bring in money.

“It left a devastation of emotions behind – I had a total breakdown.”

Continuing about how the trick forced her to the brink, Lisa said: “There was times that I was so low I thought about giving up.

“I had no money and I was signing on – he destroyed my life, confidence and dignity. It effected my mental state so much, it got to the point where I wasn’t enjoying my life anymore.”

After eight years together and reportedly due to their heartache from being conned, Lisa and Mario divorced in 2013.

READ MORE:

For more of the latest showbiz and TV news from the Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.

Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk