Big Brother star reveals brain tumour has grown – a year after shock diagnosis
03/28/2025 11:50 AM
A BIG Brother star has revealed her brain tumour has grown in a heartbreaking update to fans.
The reality star appeared on the Channel 5 version of the fly-on-the-wall programme in 2016.
Charlie Doherty revealed her shock diagnosis last year which left her fans and fellow Big Brother co-stars stunned.
Speaking at the time, she said: “So I received some rubbish news this week… I have been having some ongoing issues which has gone on a while and I pushed for an MRI which has resulted in them finding a brain tumour.
“I have been researching and finding out as much as I can and I basically wanted to share awareness that this is happening more and more and to younger people.”
Now, Charlie has revealed the tumour has grown – although doctors are confident her condition is now staple.
She told the Daily Star: “So, it's stable and I had a six-month MRI, when they just check on it, they basically said that all was well.
But it had grown and it is now 18 millimetres. I did get told originally it was like 13 millimetres, but they said not to go by that measurement, because it was done in a hospital where it's not very HD.
“Whereas the one at King's College Hospital was like the creme de la creme, the Rolls-Royce of MRI machines.
And they said, 'We're not even going to judge it on that first initial one, because it was so grainy, so we don't really want to go by that’.”
Charlie added that she may need to have radiation on the tumour in the future or even have surgery to remove it.
Charlie entered the Big Brother house on the first day of the 2016 series, back in June 2016.
She lasted 32 days and finished 13th.
She set tongues wagging as she revealed in her entrance VT that she worked as a stripper.
Symptoms of a benign brain tumour
A benign brain tumour is a mass of cells that grows relatively slowly in the brain.
Benign means it in not cancerous.
Non-cancerous brain tumours tend to stay in one place and do not spread.
Some slow-growing tumours may not cause any symptoms at first.
When symptoms occur, it’s because the tumour is putting pressure on the brain and preventing a specific area of the brain from working properly.
As the tumour grows and increases pressure in the skull, you might experience:
- New, persistent headaches that are sometimes worse in the morning or when bending over or coughing
- Feeling sick all the time
- Drowsiness
- Vision problems, such as blurred or double vision, loss of part of your visual field and temporary vision loss
- Epileptic seizures that may affect the whole body, or you may just have a twitch in one area
See a GP if you develop any of these symptoms.
They’ll examine you and ask about your symptoms.
If they suspect you may have a tumour or are not sure what’s causing your symptoms, they may refer you to a brain and nerve specialist for further investigation.
Source: NHS
