My Favourite Interviews - Jade Goody

Hi everyone….we’re up to episode 6 of season 2 of tales from a very minor celebrity, a look back at some of my favourite interviews during my 35 year plus media career.

Now Jade Goody was born 5 June 1981 and died 22 March 2009.  She came to public prominence in 2002 when she appeared on the third series of the Channel 4 reality show Big Brother. 

She went on to star in her own television programmes after her eviction from the show, which in turn led to her launching a variety of products under her own name. Immediately criticised by the British press for her perceived lack of decorum and intelligence, Goody was dubbed by multiple outlets as "the most hated woman in Britain".

The country's celebrity magazines were less derisive, publishing reports of her affable nature and competent school performance from those who knew her.

Public opinion of Goody reached its most negative in January 2007, when she was involved in the Big Brother racism controversy while appearing as a housemate on Celebrity Big Brother 5. 

Following her eviction, Goody made a number of apologies, but continued to get negative public reactions. In August 2008, she participated in Bigg Boss, the Indian version of Big Brother, but left the show early and returned to the UK after finding out that she had cervical cancer. 

By February 2009, the cancer had metastasized and she was terminally ill. She married fellow Celebrity Big Brother contestant Jack Tweed on 22 February 2009 and died one month later, in the early hours of 22 March 2009, at age 27.

Public opinion of Goody had softened by the time of her death. Sky Living broadcast five tribute shows from 2009 to 2012, documenting her life from early childhood through her rise to fame and her final months. 

The last episode of Big Brother on Channel 4 featured a 15-minute tribute to Goody, praising her as the ultimate Big Brother contestant. She was one of several people to appear on the front cover of the final edition of News of the World on 10 July 2011.

I had the pleasure of meeting Jade on a number of occasions, on the final one she had her new born baby with her, Bobby and she was telling me about a number of new projects she was involved with.