A three-part Channel 4 documentary series is exploring the rise to fame of Bermondsey’s Jade Goody.
The late star first found fame as on the 2002 series of Big Brother, before sadly losing her battle with cervical cancer in 2009, aged just 27.
‘Jade: The Reality Star Who Changed Britain’ examines her ‘roller-coaster’ life, including the highs and extreme lows of her fame.
The hard-hitting series moved viewers to tears with its first episode as it recounted the tough upbringing of Jade, who grew up on Bermondsey’s Dickens Estate.
“Seeing Jade through 2019 glasses is so shocking – how young she really was, the headlines, the hatred,” said one viewer.
“Feels like such a short time ago she was here, but so much has changed. Shame she can’t see it.”
“I had the pleasure to know her well and her life wasn’t an easy one,” added friend Adam Brooks.
“Celebrity land would expose naivety and mistakes in most of us. She had a big heart.”
An emotional Davina McCall, who hosted the TV series during the period in which Jade appeared on the show, featured on the first episode to talk about her impressions of ‘Bermondsey’s princess’.
“I remember Jade saying how she’s always looked after mum”, said McCall.
“I would look at her and think, God, you’ve gone into this first foray into being yourself and escaping that past life of drugs and addiction and then turning that around… it was nothing short of fricking miraculous.”
Her mum, Jackiey Budden, also featured on the documentary to talk about her pride in her daughter – and talked candidly about Jade’s troubled upbringing amid her parents’ struggles with drugs.
Between Jade’s diagnosis and her tragic death on Mother’s Day in 2009, around half-a-million extra cervical screenings are thought to have taken place as a result of her legacy.
However, a decade on, doctors in Southwark have warned people not to forget Jade’s message as national rates for the potentially life-saving test have seen drops nationally, particularly among young women.
The first episode aired on Wednesday, August 7 at 9pm, with the remaining two episodes airing at the same time on Wednesday, August 14 and August 21 respectively.