Bobby Brazier’s real life – mum Jade Goody’s tragic death, stepmum Kate and Jack Tweed ban

Bobby Brazier will dedicate his performance on Strictly Come Dancing tonight to his mum, the late Jade Goody, who passed away when he was just six.

The 20-year-old actor is paired with Dianne Buswell on the BBC dance competition and will be hoping to make his mum “proud” with his emotional Couple’s Choice routine. Bobby, who is now most well known for playing Freddie Slater on Eastenders, and his younger brother Freddie were raised by their dad Jeff Brazier from a young age after Jade passed away from cervical cancer in 2009.

Bobby has previously spoken about having very few memories of the Big Brother star as he was only young when she died. He once said: “I guess I know my mum through other people’s memories of my mum. Maybe memories of memories. I’m always being told about her and what she meant to people.”

But the actor knows his mum would be proud of all he’s achieved, as he added: “She’d be proud. Why wouldn’t she be? Anyone who loves and cares about me, all my friends and my family, they’re all proud and supportive. I’m sure – well, I know – she’d be the same.”

Jade’s battle with cancer was well documented in the media at the time. Following her death, Jeff vowed to give their sons the best start possible and whisked them away to Australia to escape the coverage of the funeral, which is something he had discussed with Jade prior to her passing.

Jeff previously said: “It was always our priority, we wanted to do everything right for the kids and that was the case right up until the moment, and it didn’t stop at that point. That’s when the boys really needed us to be on each other’s side and we were.”

The couple split while Jade was pregnant with Freddie, and although she went on to marry Jack Tweed just one month before her death, she and Jeff remained dedicated to supporting their sons, with Jade giving media interviews to set aside money for her boys’ futures, and Jeff training as a life coach to help other families as well as his own.

“I’ve morphed into something quite different from your average dad,” Jeff explained, “I’m probably far more sensitive to their feelings and I’m far more aware of when they need emotional support. There are little side effects of my situation where you become really good at doing quite a lot on your own. I’ve got an ability to push myself beyond tiredness because if I don’t do it, it doesn’t get done.”

Although Bobby had the support of his dad growing up, the same can’t be said for his stepdad Jack, who Jeff banned him and his brother from seeing. But in 2019, Jack insisted he had “sorted himself out” and was allowed supervised visits with Bobby and Freddie. He said at the time: “Jeff stopped me from seeing the boys. At that time, I was getting into trouble and I was off the rails – so Jeff was probably right to do that. Now he’s seen I’ve sorted myself out, so he got in touch and said the boys had been asking about me. They came around to mine for tea and Jeff was there so it felt like an awkward first date!”

Bobby’s bond with Jack is still strong now, and the latter spoke earlier this year about how proud he is – and how proud Jade would be – after learning Bobby will appear on Strictly.