A seriously ill teenager, who was born with her organs outside her body, has had one of her dearest wishes granted – the chance to spend time in the Big Brother house.

Katie Tancred was invited to enter the famous television house for a behind-the-scenes tour thanks to the Rays of Sunshine children’s charity, which makes wishes come true for seriously ill children aged between three and 18.

Katie, 18, from Walderslade, was born with a condition called major exomphalos, meaning her stomach, liver, bowel and intestines grew outside her body.

She has had more than 30 operations and due to her condition finds it hard to put on weight.

However, she never complains, despite all she has had to cope with, including having to be fed via a tube.

Katie was among a small group of young people invited to Elstree Studios in Borehamwood,
Hert­fordshire, where Big Brother is filmed, for an exclusive tour of the site.

After lunch she was given a tour of the studios, includ­­ing a visit to Lifecast, which creates body doubles, body parts and props for film and television.

Once in the Big Brother house, Katie had the chance to sit in the Diary Room chair.

“I had a fantastic time,” said Katie. “Everyone was really nice and being able to have a tour around Elstree Studios and the Big Brother house was incredible. It was so interesting to be able to see all the life casts that have been created for different films and TV programmes.

“I didn’t realise how small the studio sets were in real life, especially the Big Brother house, which looks really big on TV.”

Rays of Sunshine is sponsored by Red Rock Entertainment, which sponsors wishes that enable children to have behind-the-scenes experiences in the film industry.