Transgender ‘Big Brother’ contestant ‘in coma with tumour’

Former Big Brother contestant Rebekah Shelton is in a coma after developing a brain tumour, according to posts on her Twitter account.

Shelton – who appeared on Big Brother under her former male identity of Rodrigo Lopes – is currently in the process of undergoing gender reassignment.

She finished fifth in Big Brother 10 back in 2009, which was won by Sophie Reade. Shelton’s relationship with fellow housemate Charlie Drummond attracted attention as it was the show’s first gay relationship.

Her family posted two messages on Shelton’s Twitter on Sunday (May 17) asking for fans to pray for her. See the posts below:

Speaking to Heat magazine about her gender reassignment back in 2012, Shelton said: “I’ve always felt like I had a woman inside of me, always, but I used to hide it.

“I’ve always liked make-up, treatments and other womanly things, and I was 18 when I first started experimenting. But early this year I told my best friend Andrea how I was really feeling. She encouraged me. When I came back to the UK I started wearing my friends’ clothes first, then I began shopping for them.

“People in the shops were surprisingly normal about it. Now I go out with a transvestite I made friends with. She’s very glam. We go to straight clubs and get a lot of attention.”

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