You dont have to be a royalist to be sad about Prince Phillip. You dont have to be a royalist to see the Queen as sort of like your gran. And you dont have to be a royalist to feel sorry for her losing someone she liked spending time with.

But he was 99.

A man who lived life to the full. Surrounded by children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

A man who will be remembered worldwide and while humans study history.

You only have to consider the sheer weight of documentaries that are available to know this death was expected.

I accept we must show respect to a grieving family (as we would anyone we knew). I accept the traditional period of national mourning.

But can we also talk about Nikki?

Big Brother 7 was the last of the great BB shows (or the last one I watched) and Nikki was its Queen. She was a character who you couldn’t help but want to watch.

But it doesn’t really matter if she was a Z list celebrity or if she was the next door neighbour.

We need to talk about Nikki.

We need to talk about all the Nikki’s in the world.

Nikki was killed by COVID.

Or to be more precise, Nikki was killed by lockdown.

I work in HR. Almost every HR publication, news article, webinar and forum talks about the exponential rise in anxiety, depression and other mental health issues.

Those who have never experienced problems before are now suffering.

But worse still are those who have suffered long term, have found their own coping strategies which have been made unavailable and so are falling harder than ever.

Nikki had anorexia and found comfort by going to the gym. During lockdown she stopped eating because she wasn’t able to go.

A version of this story is repeated everywhere. In every street, neighbourhood, workplace, family and community.

I know people who keep their mental health by surrounding themselves with family and friends, or by running, or by going on holidays, or by walking near the sea, or by swimming, or, my own relief, going to the cinema.

We need to talk about Nikki.

We need to talk about the people that are losing their lives indirectly to COVID. Suicide by lockdown is not a term you hear everyday (i just made it up). Its not on the news. There are no daily figures. But it is real. I bet everyone reading this knows of someone it has happened to (whether directly or indirectly)

Yes, lockdown is important and I want to follow the rules. Yes COVID is terrible and Im not underplaying its direct devastation.

But we have to talk about Nikki and how we can help those like her to get through this period.

Forgive me if I’d rather Prince Phillip’s airtime be given up to someone whose death could save hundreds or thousands of others.

Please. Can we talk about Nikki?