Jade Goody: this 21-year-old character burst onto the public scene in Big Brother 3 in 2002. Although she didn't win, she was the one memorable personality thanks to the 'Marmite effect'. Love her or hate her, the world of media voyeurism had a new queen.

Jade was the offspring of a pair of drug addicts. Her father left when Jade was two, (he died of a heroin overdose in 2005), and from a very young age the girl effectively became her mother's carer due to her many health issues¹. Jade was perceived as 'thick' because her general knowledge seemed so lacking, and in the full glare of live TV she caused intense debate about the standard of education she had received. When her story was revealed, it turned out that she had spent a lot of her childhood looking after her mother, and very rarely attended school.

Once evicted from Big Brother 3 she revelled in the celebrity culture, and embarked upon a career based on her 15 minutes of fame, in effect promoting herself. Jade marketed an exercise video jointly with one of the other BB contestants. Then, with £50,000 of her own money, Jade opened a beauty salon in Hertford called 'Ugly's' — it closed after a few months — then set about writing about all her experiences as the subject of a book, which was a bestseller.

Thanks to magazine articles about her escapades and agreeing to interviews, Jade soon became the first BB millionaire. Jade's turbulent 'private² life' — including an on-off relationship which produced two pregnancies — was just more media fodder. Further exploits were nightclub brawls and motoring offences. Whenever Jade appeared in public it was reported, photographed and displayed in glossy magazines to feed her fans' insatiable appetites. She underwent plastic surgery stating it would make her look like Marilyn Monroe — meaning breast augmentation to give her an hour-glass figure like Marilyn had, not facial work as was assumed.

In 2007, Jade created a storm of controversy when she was accused of racism towards Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty. During a heated row on Celebrity Big Brother Jade called the other woman a 'princess' and 'Shilpa Poppadom'. Also involved in the altercation, which attracted 45,000 complaints to media regulator Ofcom, were fellow contestants Jo O'Meara and Danielle Lloyd. Jade defended herself by stating that she had lots of coloured friends and relatives (her father is of mixed race), and therefore refuted the allegations. Following her eviction from the programme Jade received hate mail and even death threats, and her public approval rating plummeted.

Chancellor Gordon Brown, then visiting India to promote trade and good relations, found himself embroiled in the political fallout. He ended up making a statement to the press saying he 'wanted to reassure people that Britain prides itself on tolerance and fairness'. Back in the UK, outgoing PM Tony Blair commented that he was unable to comment as he had not viewed the programme. Book shops refused to sell the paperback version of her autobiography and Jade's perfume 'Shh' was removed from the shelves faster than you could say 'piff paff puff'. For over a year Jade battled to salvage her career. This included charity work and appearances on TV shows like Celebrity Driving School. Jade also visited India and apologised for her behaviour. There she was welcomed and embraced by Shilpa Shetty.

Illness

Jade was told that she might have cervical cancer while taking part in Bigg Boss. That's the Indian version of Big Brother; they called her into the Diary Room to be given the news specially. Jade broke down in tears then left the TV show to return home to be reunited with her two sons, Bobby and Freddie. Tests showed she did have cervical cancer and treatment began immediately.

Unfortunately, having a radical hysterectomy did not stop the spread of the disease and while she was taking part in a pantomime Jade collapsed. More tests were undertaken — the cancer had spread to her liver, bowel and groin, and Jade received the news that she was terminally ill. She determined to stay in the public eye while she fought to stay alive and engaged the services of an agent — the indomitable Max Clifford. He negotiated deals with Living TV and newspapers and the interest in her plight elicited worldwide attention.

Though criticised for publicising her personal tragedy, Jade says it is all to leave a legacy for her children, who already attend private schools. In 2009 it won't have escaped anyone's notice that Jade was terminally ill, her doctors said nothing more can be done and her care was now palliative. With her final weeks of life being played out in the media, it seemed that Jade's bald head and huge sad eyes are everywhere you look. Jade stated she has not told her children specifically that she is dying, but explained the reason for her hospital visits was because she had 'tadpoles in her tummy'. The boys are aged five and four, they are expected to live with either their grandmother or Daddy Jeff, as they call him, after they lose their Mummy.

Planning a Wedding

In February 2009 27-year-old Jade Goody began planning her wedding to her fiancé  Jack Tweed. He was released from Wayland Prison in January after serving four months of an 18-month sentence for assault. Jack proposed marriage when doctors told them that Jade's cancer was incurable. Jade, on a laptop in her hospital bed, threw herself into preparations for her upcoming wedding. Jade also planned her funeral and wrote up her will.

OK! magazine bought exclusive rights to photograph the ceremony for £700,000³. Harrods owner Mohammed al-Fayed donated a designer wedding dress. The paparazzi were in attendance to snap the touching moment when the couple chose their wedding rings at Tiffany's. Sir Elton John offered the use of his mansion for a honeymoon. On 18 February Prime Minister Gordon Brown was moved to comment:

It's very sad indeed that the treatment has not been successful. Her determination to help her family is something that we have got to applaud and I wish her family well.

Wedding Happiness

On Sunday 22 February Jade and Jack were married. When Jack was released early from jail, conditions were that he wears an electronic tag and observes a curfew of 7pm by returning to his mother's home in Essex. Bridegroom Jack was given special dispensation by Justice Secretary Jack Straw to allow the couple to spend their wedding night together — possibly their most treasured wedding gift of all.

From Tragedy - Something Good

A beneficial effect of this story is that Jade's decision to live out her final few weeks in the public eye will possibly save countless other young women from contracting the same illness. Since Jade was diagnosed, surgeries around the UK have reported an upsurge of requests for cervical smear test appointments. Doctors are calling the phenomenon 'the Jade Goody effect'.

In Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, women have to be 20 before they can be tested; however, in England, the starting age is 25, which is quite shocking, really. A fitting epitaph to Jade Goody would be to bring that age limit in line with the rest of the UK so this preventable cancer is caught in time and no-one else dies needlessly.