Big Brother icon Nadia seen with stitches on her eyes and bandaged nose

02 October 2023 , 13:36

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Big Brother icon Nadia seen with stitches on her eyes and bandaged nose

Nadia Almada has been spotted with her face taped up after having cosmetic surgery in Spain.

The Big Brother legend, 46, who won the show back in 2004 when she kept her transgender identity secret from her housemates, was seen leaving a hospital in Marbella last week. Sporting bight blonde hair and a long, navy smock dress, the TV star had a number of white suture (stitches) plasters under her nose and on top of her eyelids, which looked bloodied and bruised. The plasters are intended to close wounds and cuts after surgery.

Accessorising her outfit with gold chunky heels and turquoise nail varnish, Nadia left the hospital with a companion as she began the healing process. The TV star was spotted having lunch and arriving for a surgery consultation on September 26 before leaving her appointment the following afternoon. Nadia's surgery was carried out by Facialteam in Marbella, who describe themselves as experts in "facial feminisation surgery".

Nadia Almada has been spotted with her face heavily taped up after having surgery in Spain (SplashNews.com)

Nadia looked gorgeous in a navy smock dress and chunky gold heels (SplashNews.com)

Facial feminisation surgery encompasses a broad range of procedures to change the shape of the face to look more feminine. Examples include having the hairline moved to create a smaller forehead, augmenting lips and cheekbones, or having the jaw and chin reshaped and resized. It also includes eyelid surgery (Blepharoplasty) in which excess skin of the upper eyelid and the bags of the lower eyelids is eliminated.

Back in July, Nadia revealed she was undergoing cosmetic surgery to 'hold back the years'. Speaking to The Sun, she said: "I have just had a lot of gender-affirming surgery on my face and I am going back to do a little bit more. I am having a facelift too, because darling, I am a lady of a certain age.

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"I'm a dinosaur now, so things like Botox and fillers don't do the trick. My face just absorbs it! I am going to go to Turkey too and get my teeth done. I guess you could say I am having a mummy makeover."

The star spoke about her plastic surgery in July (SplashNews.com)

Nadia was spotted having lunch before the day of her surgery (SplashNews.com)

Despite being one of the most iconic Big Brother winners of all time, the Portuguese-born star was forced to take a career away from the spotlight after shooting to fame on the Channel 4 show.

Nadia has spent the last 10 years working as a hairdresser after revealing she wasn't offered the same job opportunities as her fellow housemates. Despite winning the £63,500 cash prize thanks to securing a whopping 74% of the overall final public vote, she said opportunities for trans women 'weren't out there'.

She said: "Jade Goody, for example, made millions out of Big Brother with her own perfume and magazine deals and that was amazing, but when a brand wanted someone to advertise a new hair product or something, they wouldn't come to a trans woman to be the face of that. They wanted to appeal to the masses."

She arrived for a surgery consultation on September 26 (SplashNews.com)

However, despite going under the radar after she won Big Brother, Nadia may now be ready to dip into another line of work. Nadia admits she has an OnlyFans profile set up, but is yet to post on the subscription-only site – teasing she may be willing to share some snaps of her feet for the right price.

She is also game for appearing on another reality TV show – revealing she wouldn't say no to appearing on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! or "that middle-aged Love Island show" in the future.

Victoria Johns