When Freddy Brazier revealed this week that his grandmother was ‘definitely’ responsible for getting him hooked on cannabis from the age of 12, it painted a tragic picture of a family unable to break the cycle of addiction through the generations.
TV personality Freddy, the younger son of Big Brother star Jade Goody admitted he’s previously been sectioned after struggling with addiction and manic episodes, saying: ‘My nan is definitely the person who introduced me to reefer and got me hooked. It’s one of those things, I was 12.’
His mother Jade sadly died in 2009 from cervical cancer, aged 27, after a turbulent life that saw her rolling her mother Jackiey Budden’s joints aged five and watching her father slowly die as drugs took their toll.
As well as smoking cannabis to ‘copy’ her mother and being beaten by her in a drug-addled rage, Jade decided to smoke crack cocaine to show her mother how it feels to watch someone ‘kill themselves in front of your very eyes’.
Meanwhile, Jade’s father Andrew Goody – who served four years in prison for robbery – died from a drug overdose in August 2005, aged 42, while staying in a rehabilitation hostel in Bournemouth. How sad, now, that history seems to be repeating itself with Freddy.
At the time of her death, Jade had found her feet as a mother to her two sons Bobby and Freddy with her ex-partner Jeff Brazier, who worked hard to give them a stable upbringing after their mother’s death, even moving to to keep them out of the spotlight.
There are fears history is repeating itself with Jade’s youngest son Freddy who revealed he was sectioned after struggling with addiction and manic episodes after his grandmother Jackiey got him hooked on drugs aged just 12
Freddy is the younger son of Big Brother star Jade Goody who sadly died in 2009 from cervical cancer, aged 27, after a turbulent life that saw her rolling her mother’s joints aged five and watching her father slowly die as drugs took their toll (Jade pictured with mum Jackiey)
The Daily Mail looks inside the rocky childhood of the late TV star amid concerns for her beloved son Freddy (pictured right with his brother Bobby, left)
Jade first tried drugs aged five
Years after Jade’s death, Jackiey admitted that the real reason her daughter had applied to appear on Big Brother was to ‘get away from her and get her childhood back’.
In the documentary, The Reality Star Who Changed Britain, she spoke about her daughter in heartbreaking fashion, saying: ‘Jade was MY mum.
‘At five years old Jade was ironing and changing plugs, there was no one helping us, no social services.’
In Jade’s autobiography, she admitted to smoking cannabis aged just five after years of watching Jackiey and her friends.
She wrote: ‘I had my first puff when I was five. It was sitting in the ashtray so I picked it up and took a big long drag, just like I’d seen her and her mates do.
‘I used to skin up for my mum and had my first puff when I was five. Mum didn’t tell me off either – she took a picture.’
Jade revealed that she once smoked her mother’s stash of crack cocaine in an attempt to shock her out of her own addiction.
But the experience only left Jade feeling ‘dirty and disgusting’ when she failed to stop Jackiey from doing drugs.
In her autobiography, Miss Goody, she explained: ‘I decided to show her how nasty and heartbreaking it was to see a member of your family – your own flesh and blood – killing themselves in front of your very eyes.
‘I took some of her crack, put it in a Rizla paper to make a joint, and I smoked it. I felt dirty and disgusting. “How does it make you feel watching me do this?”, I asked.
‘I couldn’t even smoke it all, it made me feel too ill. I ran to the toilet, stuck my fingers down my throat and made myself sick, and sick, and sick.’
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As well as smoking cannabis to ‘copy’ her mother as a child, Jade (pictured) decided to smoke crack cocaine to show her mother how it feels to watch someone ‘kill themselves in front of your very eyes’
Years after Jade’s death, Jackiey shared the heartbreaking reason she appeared on Big Brother was to ‘get away from her and get her childhood back’ (pictured together on Celebrity Big Brother in 2007)
Jackiey previously recalled the time she ‘punched’ her daughter for smashing her crack pipe.
She said: ‘I was a drug addict [during] them times [sic], I was a crack head. She’d be in her bedroom and I would be next door doing it.
‘That girl, she worked and worked and worked and still gave me money and it would still go on gear.
‘She came home one evening and I was just ready to put a pipe on and it was my last pipe and she came into the front room and whacked it on the table.
‘Well, I’m a drug addict and she took my last pipe. I [punched] her temple and it just came out here.’
Sharing her regrets, Jackiey added: ‘Oh my God, I’ve never felt so guilty so much in my life.’
Jade’s father died of an overdose
Meanwhile, Jade’s father Andrew Goody (pictured) – who served four years in prison for robbery – died from a drug overdose in August 2005, aged 42, while staying in a rehabilitation hostel in Bournemouth
Andrew died from a drug overdose in August 2005, aged 42, while staying in a rehabilitation hostel in Bournemouth.
An old clip of Jade from when she was young – which was documented in The Reality Star Who Changed Britain – shows her speaking of how she spotted her father injecting drugs when she was a little girl.
After giving birth to her son Bobby, Jade decided to cut her father out of her life for good because of his drug use.
Andrew was a drug addict and criminal who spent four years in prison for robbery.
It was reported that he started sniffing glue at eight years old, moving on to alcohol and cannabis when he was 12. He had previously overdosed on paracetamol and heroin but had survived.
Andrew and Jackiey split when Jade was just two years old.
Freddy Brazier’s drug addiction began at 12
Freddy revealed that he was sectioned amid mental health struggles and claimed grandmother Jackiey got him hooked on drugs aged just 12
Freddy revealed that he was sectioned amid mental health struggles and claimed grandmother Jackiey got him hooked on drugs aged just 12.
He told fans in June that he has been addicted to smoking from a young age and would be heading to rehab.
But he has since made a shock U-turn, shortly after he was seen puffing suspicious cigarettes with his gran.
Speaking on the A Load Of Old Cobblers podcast, Freddy said while he didn’t try drugs for the first time with his grandmother Jackiey she was ‘definitely the person’ who got him addicted.
‘No, it wasn’t with my nan [the first time] although my nan is definitely the person who introduced me to reefer and got me hooked. It’s one of those things, I was 12.’
He continued: ‘I’ve been smoking since I was 12, I’ve been to rehab, I’ve been sectioned, I’ve had manic episodes… There’s been a real journey and it’s been a tough one.’
Freddy also claimed that he had spent years fearful that Jackiey would end her life if he didn’t ‘prioritise’ their relationship, amid her ongoing feud with his father Jeff.
In a preview of the podcast, which will be released on September 1, Freddy said: ‘I felt like if I didn’t prioritise the relationship with my mum’s mum Jackiey, and I didn’t feel like I had to be around for her… she’d kill herself.’
Freddy also claimed that he was fearful his grandmother Jackiey would end her life if he did not ‘prioritise’ their relationship, amid her ongoing feud with his father Jeff (Jackiey pictured last week)
Freddy revealed he was entering rehab and made candid remarks about wanting to rebuild a healthy relationship with his father after a family rift
But days after the admission, Freddy posted again online saying he had changed his mind, writing: ‘You know what I don’t need rehab. I just need a holiday’
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Jeff Brazier has 'dropped' legal case against Jackiey Budden as he patches up his feud with sons Freddy and Bobby
He added: ‘And I had that in my head for so long to the point where I pushed my dad away and I would stay at my nan’s for months, go on mad ones.’
In June, Freddy was seen puffing with his nan in front of tourists near London’s Tower Bridge, after The Mail On Sunday revealed he had been living with her.
He cut a casual figure in a burgundy top and beige shorts while Jackie wore joggers rolled up to her knees and sported bandages on her hands, with onlookers telling The Sun that she was ‘acting erratically’.
Freddy later announced on Instagram that he was going to a rehabilitation centre in Spain and was keen to seek treatment.
He said: ‘I’ve been smoking from the age of 12 and it’s time to stop, it was a bad coping mechanism that turned into an addiction, something I relied on and something that made me feel sane and somewhat okay.’
But days after the admission, Freddy posted again online saying he had changed his mind, writing: ‘You know what I don’t need rehab. I just need a holiday with a good group of boys or a retreat.’
It was previously revealed that Jeff had set up a court date to stop Freddy from seeing his grandmother, amid rising concerns over his well-being.
And it appears Jeff and Freddy have patched things up as he admitted he is ‘grateful forgiveness is a thing’ and also shared his gratitude for his father.
It was previously revealed that Jeff (centre) had set up a court date to stop Freddy (right) from seeing his grandmother, amid rising concerns over his well-being (pictured with Bobby, left)
He wrote: ‘I’m so grateful. Grateful for my dads [sic] advice, grateful that forgiveness is a thing, grateful that I got to see someone important to me, grateful for my boys.’
Jeff has long insisted Jackiey is a bad influence on the troubled youngster – with the pair enduring a series of very public disputes over the years.
However, despite her best efforts, the star claimed his drastic actions had no effect on Jackiey and her addiction.
During his appearance on BBC’s Celebrity Race Across the World, Freddy spoke on the grief he has suffered following his mother’s tragic passing.
He said: ‘I don’t really remember being held by my mum… if I had more memories with her, it would have made it a whole lot harder for me, but I think I would rather that than not remembering the things I had done with my mum.’
In March, Freddy revealed he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder in a candid video about his ‘serious’ mental health.
The Race Across The World star discussed his struggles with bipolar and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a TikTok post filmed for No Cause, No Cure, Epilepsy Awareness.
Bipolar causes unusual and often sudden changes in mood and energy levels, while ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by persistent inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness.