Jade Goody's heartbreaking final message to Freddie Brazier (2024)

Freddie has embarked across South America with his dad, Jeff Brazier, for the BBC show

Freddie Brazier has won the hearts of Celebrity Race Across the World fans. The 19-year-old is travelling across South America on the BBC show with his dad, Jeff Brazier.

The two are currently leading the race across the continent, which will broadcast its fourth episode tonight. The latest episode will see the teams try to find their way from Sao Paolo to Tigre in Argentina. Freddie and Jeff have bonded over their journey so far with the two having an emotional heart to heart on the anniversary of Jade Goody's death in last week's episode.

The Big Brother star was in relationship with Jeff from 2002 until 2004 and they became parents to Freddie and Strictly Come Dancing star, Bobby Brazier. Jade tragically died in 2009 aged 27 after a battle with cervical cancer.

Freddie was just 4 years old when his mum died and he opened up on his struggles to process the devastating family loss. He said: "I lost my mum when I was four and that was on ­Mother’s Day, which is really hard. I don’t really like showing my emotions. I don’t even speak to my dad much about my mum either. I just avoid it. I prefer to bottle it up.

He added: “I don’t want to feel like I’m a burden to them. A lot of my memories that I have of my mum have come from watching a documentary, YouTube clips, newspapers, they are not my memories.

“I don’t really remember being held by my mum. If I had more memories of her, it would have made it a whole lot harder for me. But I think I would rather that than not really remember the things that I had done with my mum. It’s just life really and I’ve kind of accepted that.”

Before Jade died, she wanted to ensure her children knew how much she loved them after her death - and attached a poignant final message to a photo album of her life. She said: "Dear Bobby and Freddie - I have asked for this book to be made so that when you are older you can remember just how much fun we had.

"I thank God that we made the most of our time together and I treasure the moments we shared. These are my most precious memories.

"Some person much wiser than me once said that if you never discovered something you would die for, then you haven't lived. Well, you are both proof that I have lived. I will love you always. Mummy."

EastEnders star Bobby was five when his mum died and heartbreakingly revealed in an interview with The Face that this means he doesn't miss her. He said: "I don’t feel like I was with her long enough to miss her."

He added: "I miss what could’ve been. I hear all the time she was such a presence, that she was one of a kind. What hurts most is that it wasn’t just losing anyone, it was losing Jade. I just would’ve loved to have seen what other people had seen."

According to Mirror Online, Jade's story is unique because of how young she was when she died from cervical cancer, but also because of the symptoms she suffered. She was just 15 and not sexually active when she first contracted the human papilloma virus (HPV) and abnormal cells were found during a smear test. She had them removed, but two years later they returned and a second operation took place to burn away the cells.

After the birth of Freddie in 2004, doctors found more abnormal cells. However, Jade claimed the medical professionals were against removing any more of her cervix in case it became too short to carry future pregnancies.

She had rogue cells removed three more times, but ignored a letter asking her to return for a fourth time through fear. She told Heat magazine: "When I heard I had more abnormal cells I thought, 'this is the fourth time I've been told I need to have the same operation now.

"Once you have them burnt off they shouldn't come back, I was too scared." She was rushed to hospital in 2004 and 2006 with stomach pains and heavy bleeding. She was tested for ovarian and bowel cancer, but both came back clear.

Jade became pregnant in March 2007 to boyfriend Jack Tweed, but the cancer was already growing by this point and she miscarried at 12 weeks. It would be another 14 months until she was finally diagnosed.

Jade explained to doctors she'd been losing blood for a while, but it was written off as a second miscarriage. However, Jade told Now Magazine that she knew something was seriously wrong.

She said: "The thing is the tumour was so big I had it falling out of me while I was on the loo. I had black stuff falling out of me. It was like tar. I remember being at the doctor and sobbing: 'What’s wrong with me?”

She collapsed in August following another bout of heavy bleeding- and this was the fourth time it had happened in four years. She added: "I was doubled over in pain, losing clots of blood again. There was blood all over my bathroom and all over my stairs. I was on my own and I had to call for an ambulance. I was in too much pain to walk down the stairs.

"I’d get these really bad pains, like a really bad period pain. I’d get spasms in my la-la and my stomach. They were so severe, I couldn’t walk. I’d be too weak to stand up. Blood would just come out."

Jade was admitted to hospital and doctors tried to uncover what was causing her symptoms after she suffered three big clots. She added: "I remember being so frustrated because they tried to tell me it was a heavy period. I thought: ‘Don’t insult my intelligence.’ When they gave me food, I threw up and fell off the bed."

Jade was suffering with blood loss and pains in her leg, which are both symptoms of cervical cancer. However, doctors could not confirm what was wrong and offered Jade a smear test before she was discharged. She was granted permission by her doctor to fly to India for reality TV show, Bigg Boss, when she received her devastating diagnosis.

Upon her return to the UK, doctors told Jade she'd had cancer for around two years, that it was the size of a tangerine and had eaten more than half of her womb. She underwent a hysterectomy before undergoing a bout of chemotherapy - and was given a 50% chance of survival.

However, the cancer soon spread to her liver, bowel and groin - and doctors told her the illness was terminal in February 2009. Jade continued to conduct interviews after the diagnosis - and Living TV released a heart-breaking documentary later that month charting her battle with cancer.

Jade died from the illness on March 22 when she age 27, but her legacy has lived on as it prompted a surge in young women to have smear tests. It was estimated that the number of women taking the test increased by 12% following her death.