BIG BROTHER star Pete Bennett fought back tears as he paid an emotional tribute to Nikki Grahame on Good Morning Britain.
The 39-year-old appeared on the show this morning to remember his ex-partner, who died on Friday after suffering from an eating disorder.
Pete, from Brighton, paid tribute to the Big Brother star and said he was "shocked" at how ill Nikki had become.
The pair met on Big Brother and briefly dated before splitting up after the show. However, they remained good friends and last saw each other in March.
He said: "When we saw each other again that night, when I went over there, it was magic - she came out of her shell.
"She was reminiscing about Big Brother, she wasn't well obviously but she was still there. It was one of the most special nights I ever had with Nikki.
"A lovely bond and experience to see each other again, the fondest memory I've got of her now."
The pair starred in series seven of the show, which aired in 2006 with Pete eventually being declared the winner.
Pete was visibly upset when he explained how Nikki had asked him to "come and rescue her" after she was hospitalised last year.
He said: "I knew she was ill, I'd see pictures of her out with Imogen [Thomas] and I knew she was looking thin, she contacted me in the last lockdown saying she'd been hospitalised again and she wanted me to come and rescue her or something.
"She got out again, we were still in contact… But recently when I saw the GoFundMe, it was a shock.
"When I saw her recently it was a complete difference, it was quite a shock."
Nikki Grahame died on Friday aged 38.
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