Whatever you think about Jade Goody, you can’t deny the impact she had on reality TV.
Jade made headlines the moment she set foot into the Big Brother house in 2002 aged 21.
The Bermondsey export endeared herself to the public while on the Channel 4 reality show’s third series, with sayings such as “Am I minging?”, "Rio de Janeiro, ain't that a person?" and “They were trying to use me as an escape goat”.
Following her exit from the house, Jade went on to become the first reality TV star to make a million pounds despite coming fourth place behind winner Kate Lawler.
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However her happy life, following a hard upbringing, came to a tragic end when the mum-of-two passed away at her Essex home on Mother’s Day 2009, surrounded by family including her husband Jack Tweed, after suffering from cervical cancer.
She was just 27.
Ten years on, Channel 4 is airing a three-part documentary called Jade: The Reality Star Who Changed Britain, which starts tonight.
Her mum Jackiey Budden opens up about the moment her daughter begged to be taken to Dignitas to end her life.
“She wanted to go to Switzerland to have the injection. She kept telling me and Jack all the time,” reports the Mirror Online.
But Jackiey, 62, explained that the doctors believed her not well enough to make the decision to travel to the euthanasia clinic in Switzerland.
“She was on so many drugs, the nurses couldn’t take mine and Jack’s words, they needed her words to say that she wanted the injection,” Jackiey said.
While Jade's first BB experience was a positive one, her second appearance on the celebrity version of the show saw her row with Shilpa Shetty, leading to accusations of racism when she called the Bollywood star ‘Shilpa Poppodom’.
Jade, along with S Club 7’s Jo O’Meara and Danielle Lloyd, were branded 'bullies' by the way they treated the actress, leading to over 50,000 complaints.
Attempting to build bridges, Jade entered the Indian Big Brother house in August 2008 - and two days later she was given the shock news that she had cancer.
By February 2009, Jade was told her cancer was terminal and there was nothing more that doctors could do.
Speaking of her daughter’s death, Jackiey explained that after watching her suffer so badly, knowing she was relieved to know that she was finally at rest and out of pain.
“Jade was disintegrating and we were watching her disintegrate,” said Jackiey.
"I miss her to the max but I was so pleased she was out of pain. She’d had all the drugs she could have.”
Remembering her daughter, Jackiey - who lost the use of her arm in a motorbike crash - admits she was not a perfect mother to Jade.
Jackiey said: “Jade was MY mum. At five years old Jade was ironing and changing plugs, there was no one helping us, no social services.”
It’s been 10 years since Jade’s death, and Jackiey says that her daughter lives on through her sons by TV presenter Jeff Brazier - Bobby, now 16, and Freddie, 14,
Jade: The Reality Star Who Changed Britain airs on Wednesday, August 7, Channel 4 at 9pm.
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