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PM praises dying Jade Goody's £1m wedding deals 'to help her family'

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Published Date: 19 February 2009
JADE Goody left hospital yesterday to prepare for her wedding, which is expected to earn her close to £1 million following a frenzied bidding war.
The cancer-stricken reality TV star has finalised deals with OK! magazine and Living TV ahead of her marriage to her boyfriend Jack Tweed on Sunday, her publicist Max Clifford said yesterday.

It is understood that Goody will earn about £700,000 from OK! – which has also secured the rights to pictures of her children's christening – and an estimated £100,000 from a Living TV contract as well as other tabloid deals.

Yesterday, she looked pale and unsteady as she was helped from a wheelchair into a waiting ambulance at London's Royal Marsden Hospital.

Her decision to have cameras film her daily battle with cancer created a storm of protest. And her recent suggestion that she may allow the cameras to capture the moment of her death was, for many, pushing boundaries too far.

Discussions are under way for her to do a one-off interview with Piers Morgan for ITV, but her publicist confirmed there will be no filming of her dying.

Last night even Prime Minister Gordon Brown became embroiled in the debate, defending her actions. He expressed his sympathy for Goody, who was recently diagnosed with cancer, and said people should "applaud her determination to help her family" by selling the media rights to her wedding.

Mr Brown said: "It's very sad and tragic that such a young woman has this cancer.

"Her determination to help her family is something that we have got to applaud and I wish her family well."

Goody, 27, was told by doctors last week that her cervical cancer is terminal and she has just months to live. In a controversial move, she has deliberately used media coverage of her illness to raise money for her children, Bobby, five, and Freddie, four, before she dies. It was confirmed yesterday that Goody's boyfriend would not receive any money from the deal and has agreed the entire amount should be passed on to her children.

The wedding, scheduled to take place at Down Hall, a country house hotel in Essex, is expected to be shown on Living TV, probably in mid-March, as the last in the former Big Brother star's ongoing series about her illness for the channel.

Andrew Jones, a lecturer in journalism at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, described Goody as a "creation of the British media" who had allowed herself to be exploited.

He said broadcasting in the UK was undergoing a "crisis of confidence" in knowing what was acceptable television.

"I think there is something inherently distasteful about following someone's final hours… but this has been done with her consent.

"There's an insatiable interest in this woman's life… and there will always be an audience to follow her to her last breath.

"The problem is we have a real struggle in knowing when enough is enough."



Final interview may be with Piers Morgan

JADE Goody's final television interview is expected to be with the former newspaper editor Piers Morgan, it emerged yesterday.

Discussions are under way for the celebrity to do a one-off interview with Morgan, which is expected to be screened on ITV.

The publicist Max Clifford, who represents Goody, said there was the potential for her to do one more interview. "It's something Piers might do," he added. "That's something that is being discussed. She likes Piers, and she has done stuff with him in the past."

The interview is expected to take place in the next few weeks.

Morgan recently revealed he was "desperately sad" after learning of her illness, adding that he would do whatever he could to support the star's sons, Bobby, five, and Freddie, four.

He said: "To see her achieve so much… to see it all now disappearing fast in this tragic way is desperate.

"What can you say? All you can do is support her. She wants to raise awareness of cervical cancer and raise money for her kids' future before she dies, and I will do anything I can to help her."


For all the sharpest analysis visit The Steamie, our politics blog

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  • Last Updated: 19 February 2009 12:11 AM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: Reality TV
 
1

,

19/02/2009 00:17:44
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2

Charles Linskaill,

Edinburgh 19/02/2009 01:13:34

Like her or hate her!, this must be one of the saddest storys, I have heard for a long time.
No-one deserves what she is going through, and such a young age!
Because I have a heart, and do care for others, even though I do not know them, I shed a tear for Jane.
My only wish is, she will be given the best love and understanding in the she does now.
All my best Jane and miracles do happen, never give in, your smile will always be with me,
God Bless, x.
3

,

19/02/2009 01:31:31
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4

Charles Linskaill,

Edinburgh 19/02/2009 02:11:43


glen ~3,

Well sorry for the typo error, but if you must know, I am using a mobile phone to make comment today, as my internet connection is down.
I would think everyone would know, that I meant "Jade"!
Your comment is of unbelievable misunderstanding and feeling of someone soo ill.

5

we the people,

19/02/2009 03:29:45
dumbed down britain? greedy and egotistical? far as i can tell that's just class hatred. don't know much about this woman, but from what i've read last day or two she had a pretty brutal childhood by any standards. and the fact that she is ill educated is an indigtment of the society in which she had the misfortune to be raised, not herself.
i'm with charles.
6

C. Haynes,

Boise 19/02/2009 04:03:02
I find it horrifying that anyone would label this unfortunate "greedy" because she wants to leave a legacy to care for her babies. Most of the people I know would applaud her courageous effort on their behalf. remember about walking a mile in someone else's shoes for pity sake.
7

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19/02/2009 05:28:10
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8

Phil C,

19/02/2009 05:58:40
This sums up the worst of the greedy and unhealthy society we live in and the whole thing is totally disgusting. By that I mean, not the horrid Jade Goody, but the mass obsession with celebrity. Jade's condition makes her much more deserving than footballers' wives and pretentious actors who invite us all into their homes, or to their weddings.

Vast amounts of money are paid to people who already have too much money, just because they are 'celebrities', while much more deserving people who are poor or sick get nothing. Talk about rubbing their noses in it!
9

caithness,

19/02/2009 06:40:21
I'm sorry for the woman as I would be for anyone in her condition. The fact that she's a talentless loud mouth doesn't detract from this. I wish all women who have this terrible disease got such publicity.
PS Wonder if Gordon Brown had ever heard of her before? Talk about jumping on the bandwagon.
10

jerrymanders,

Tackiness astounds 19/02/2009 07:01:38
Tacky. Very tacky.
11

M.T.,

19/02/2009 07:25:40
I watch the television and read newspapers for knowledge and entertainment.

I know what it is like to watch a cancer sufferer's last few months and I did not find it entertaining.

I wish Jade Goodie well, who knows, she may survive this cancer and I hope she does. In the meantime if I see her on the television, I will switch it off and if I see see her name or face again in a newspaper or magazine, I will not buy it.

Many of my friends and relatives feel the same.
12

Athur2shedsJackson,

London 19/02/2009 07:36:22
While i'm sorry anyone has to die of this terrible disease and children loosing their mother is never anything but tragic.
How much money does her children need? she is already a multi millionaire due to the stupid uk publics facination with celebrity.
If it wasn't for us she would be working in an office or shop and really worriying how to provide for her childrens future after she' gone just like 100's of parents facing this disease every year without millions of pounds.
I do hope she will leave a sizeable donation to cancer research!!
13

Hombre,

Tertiary Office, Espana 19/02/2009 07:37:02
TV made Jade and TV will record her final days. To some celebrities this would be the ultimate goal of life. I actually think she is an intelligent woman who was let down by her toxic family, schooling and due to class prejudices is seen as some idiot.
She is doing all she can to protect her kids. She has little tools to work with. Max Clifford is probably the best route to take at this time no matter how distasteful it may seem. She's savvy enough to know he can make maximum impact within shortst period of time.
14

Dave From Barra,

Western Isles 19/02/2009 07:41:00
Jade for Prime Minister! (She couldn't do a worse job anyway...).

Good luck Jade. Cancer is a cruel mistress.
15

carrottop,

Dumfries 19/02/2009 08:02:16

Noticeable all the posts toe the Scotsman line of political correctness and no dissent will probably be allowed again.

How you all glorify in being part of the on going TV series of the life (and death) of Jane Goody. Doesn't the next paragraph quoted from above strike any of you as a fundamental wrong.

`How the cameras are recording Jade Goody’s distress: This scene of her undergoing chemotherapy treatment was aired on television last night'

A big, get your own life, to all of you.
16

Bibamus,

19/02/2009 08:13:35
There are, unfortunately many young women dying of cancer, some with families, who are much better members of society then Jane Goody - what is Gordon Brown going to do for them ?
17

Aileen,

19/02/2009 08:16:00
My mother died of osophogeal cancer, my uncle, pancreatic cancer, my grandmother, cancer, no one offered them 1 million pounds because they were dying. While I sympathise, I do not condone her making money of out it, unless as one post mentioned she gives a heck of a lot of it to cancer research, that's where it should be going, not her children, they will manage just fine.
18

Keithie Boy,

St Albans 19/02/2009 08:39:56
Normally I'd suggest that this whole thing was pretty tacky. The woman is dying and she's made the decison to get as much money as she can. She's a TV "star" who seems to personify all that is wrong abotu a dumbed down society. But the thing that makes this not tacky is her stated desire for this money to be for the education of her children. You've got to give her a bit of credit for recognising the folly of her own lack of education and trying so do something to stop that happening to her kids. I can completely respect that; afterall she's not getting any of the money and her soon to be husband has stated that he is not getting any of it either. So fair play to her. If you can get past your own view of her then it's easy to see that actually it's not about her at all. In reality she's being quite selfless for the benefit of her children. Good luck to her.
19

Voice of reason,

EDINBURGH 19/02/2009 09:00:07
Does Brown think this will win him a few votes ? The man is PATHETIC . Jade Goody - whatever her terrible illness - is a symptom of the depths to which we have sunk under Blair where assholes are worshipped as celebrities .
20

jdships,

Edinburgh 19/02/2009 09:10:08
17 Aileen,

My thoughts exactly having had the same experiences
21

Mike Masterton,

London 19/02/2009 09:13:42
#7 Nothing,"Hello" mag will pay for it.
I'm not all that keen on her but I wouldn't wish this on anyone.My ex sister in law is going through a similar illness & probably won't see this year out,but unlike Goodie she isn't in the "celeb" world,so she has to get on with it with just her family around her!
22

Highland Mist,

19/02/2009 09:14:49
I sincerely hope that Clifford and all of those exploiting the final days of this poor creature and her family donate ALL of the money they are making from it to Cancer Research. I can understand her wanting to make as much as possible to leave to her sons. But more important than money is the legacy of love and life's priorities that will stand them well for their future. They could be left all the money in the world and have the worst lives imaginable if they are not cared for and raised properly with good values and I really hope that that is never forgotten about and that the British Medi, the Paparazzi and Max Clifford make sure they are left alone when their mother passes.

Infact, Max Clifford and anyone else who has made money through exploiting this girl should give the whole lot to Cancer Research.
23

John south of Soutra,

19/02/2009 09:21:54
I agree with 17 & 18, there thousands of people going thorugh the same fate who are no doubt worried about how their families will survive but they won't be able to make a vast amount of money from their plight, we can't blame Jade Goody for what she is doing as all she is doing is what all of us would do if we had the opportunity. However for Gordon Brown to mention her in a speech he was making yesterday just shows the type of person he is - shallow and calculating, he and his advisors obviously think that this shows he is in touch what what is happening in the real world and will gain him public support but to me it is a slap in the face to all the many other cancer sufferers who none of us know about
24

Phil C,

19/02/2009 09:30:29
The huge plus in this is that it reinforces the reality of cervical cancer to young girls. There are preventative measures I believe.

Whether the odious Goody gets £1 or £20 million should not concern anybody. There's far too much cash being chucked around in any case. The concern should be that someone like Jade became a 'celebrity' at all!!
25

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19/02/2009 09:30:56
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19/02/2009 09:32:58
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JimC,

Kilmarnock 19/02/2009 09:45:53
I am sick to the stomach that the Scotsman has allowed comments on this story. When I look back at all the others that comments were not allowed on and then read those of the mindless few, paints a sad sad picture of some of the individuals that frequent this site.
28

Geraldine Firequeen,

19/02/2009 14:28:34
Jade I love you. I loved you the first moment I saw you sticking up to someone on Big Brother, when Graham Norton was calling you names. I followed your career after that with interest. You are so unspoiled and unsophisticated and your ignorance was no fault of yours, and you could laugh at it. I admire you totally and wish you the best that is possible for you. You are a hero and a legend, and my friends and I feel you should be made a saint after your death. A shrine should be set up, then, if the miracles happen - it will be so. At the very least the queen could make you a Dame - you deserve it Love - all the best, may you find the peace you never had in this life on the other side, and look forward to seeing you there and giving you a big hug when my time comes. Your admiring fan, Geraldine (67, so you won't have to wait long for me to join you)
29

,

19/02/2009 14:30:21
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Flint83,

19/02/2009 14:51:45
I cant belive how small minded some people can be?!?! Like her or not, that poor girl has been told that she is DYING!!! She will suffer weeks of horrific pain and degredation, her only weeks left with her 2 beautiful boys and loved ones. She is doing what she thinks is right by her children and sacrificing her own privacy to do it and she should be applauded, she is braver than a lot of people. Not only that, but she has potentially saved many lives through the awareness she has raised. Yet you still critisize her for being a class below you. You all should be ashamed!

God bless you Jade, no one should have to go through what you are going through.
31

terry osser,

morden 19/02/2009 14:53:32
browns after 40%
32

AJ Fife,

19/02/2009 15:04:57
Just when things couldnae get worse for the poor girl, she has to endure the exeptionally contrived mutterings from the worst PM since Tory Blair!
33

Flint83,

19/02/2009 15:20:29
27 WeeBerty ....To answer your question 'What has she done for anybody?'....

She has done more for society these past few weeks, with the awareness she has raised, than you will ever accomplish in a whole life-time with such a closed mind.

I cannot believe that some people are making out that she somehow deserves her fate, due to her lack of intelligence/ignorance....She is only human for godsake.

It must be bliss to be as perfect as some of you on here.
34

,

19/02/2009 15:56:22
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35

Sgian Dubh,

19/02/2009 15:57:26
The sad bit is some of the people who are complaining I'm sure are the same people who made Jade into what she became. I would blame 'Big Brother', the people who make it and the idiots who watch it and pay money to 'vote' on it. And anyone who buys 'The Sun' and supports this type of publicity stunt.
What was the film with Tom Hanks in the part of a reality show he didn't even know about?
Jade's celebrity life and now her celebrity death are a very sad and dispicable indication of what the public are looking for in terms of entertainment.
It must be truly sickening for other young women going through the same pain as this woman but because they are not celebrities their families will be left with nothing but bills, not helped by Gordon (british not Scottish) Brown. And for him to jump onto the bandwagon is shocking, but not in the least surprising.
36

Sgian Dubh,

19/02/2009 16:03:49
#29Firequeen,

You're having a laugh aren't you?. . . . .Surely.

'followed her career' What career? The woman never worked a day after Big Brother. Make her a Dame!!
Good Grief!
37

Arbroath1320,

19/02/2009 16:33:05
Sgian Dubh,

I agree with both your posts. The public are to blame for the celebrity which is Jade. They put her where she is and shouldn't complain when she does what Jade does and milks as much as she can get out of it.

Likewise, those who are quick to round on others who would criticise Jade. Remember, she is a TV celebrity and nothing more. She has, in the past, made very easy money and lots of it, doing just what she is doing now.

Firequeen. If you think Jade has earned the right to be a 'saint' or a 'dame' and have followed her 'career'. Try following the career of an A&E nurse or doctor, or a firefighter, all who have earned significantly less money, all who have contributed significantly more to society and all who have the same chance of contracting life threatening diseases.
38

Flint83,

19/02/2009 16:59:33
35 Veritas....

Did you not read my post? It answered that question. She has potentially saved lives...not that she owes anyone anything!!! The most important thing is that she is doing everything she can to ensure her kids have a decent upbringing, which any mother in her situation would...

Anyway, since when did a person have to be of a certain intellect or provide something tagible for society in order to get some sympathy?

Its rediculous, cant people stop giving her grief for being ignorant, even now??? She is going through something horrific.

Give the girl a break!




39

Iain Mac,

19/02/2009 17:05:02
Whereas Blair jumped on the Princess Di bandwagon, here's Broon jumping on Jade Goodys. Not a pretty sight.

Thousands of people go through this pain every day - are they not important because they haven't enjoyed fame and infamy on reality telly?
40

,

19/02/2009 17:06:23
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41

Flint83,

19/02/2009 17:44:45
Iain Mac - To suggest that anyone meant non famous people going through the same are not important, is rediculous. No one said that. Stop twisting things.

No one is saying everyone must set up a 'Jade Shrine', or even like the girl as a person, but there is really no need for petty name calling at this stage, is there?

On the same note, no one is asking for you to watch her tv programme, read the articles, take an interest. But obviously, even the people who claim to have boycotted everything 'Jade' still do or they wouldnt be leaving messages on here now would they?

42

Horrible Cankers @Cyber Shebeen,

19/02/2009 18:03:21
Some of the people commenting here really are malcontents are they not?
43

Tobytoo,

Southington, U.S.A. 19/02/2009 18:39:24
I have never heard of Jade Goody until this story broke so don't know her family history and I feel very sorry for her but I wonder why she has waited this long to have 1)her children Christened,(would they have been Christened if she was not dying) 2)do they really needed this amount of money to get a good education, 3)how much of the money will her new husband get. I cannot see her getting much dignity in her last days as I think a dying person deserves.
I just hope that when the children are grown up they will appreciate what their mother did for them.
44

Tris,

19/02/2009 18:45:32

There's something incredibly tacky about this whole thing.

First off, let it be said, no one with any kind of humanity in them could be anything but sorry for Goodie and, more particularly, her poor children.

That said, I noticed a headline in one of the tabloids the other day calling her a "star". Sorry? A star? There was a time when a "star" had talent, ability, maybe a voice or acting or dancing talent... something. Goodie, however sorry you may feel for her, is a talentless moneymaker.

It says more, though, about the British public than it does about Goodie herself, that they are watching and buying this stuff about a woman dying, with some sort of ghoulish relish.

Of course, some people (elderly women in particular) have always enjoyed the discussion of any morbid or depressing health details about themselves, their families and their friends and even their enemies. I suppose all Goodie is doing is seeing a chance to make a few bob on the back of a public for whom this passes as entertainment.

And, I suppose, no one could blame her for trying to make some money for her kids with the future that they may have in this god forsaken country.

That Brown has attached himself to it is even tackier than the fact that it is happening at all. Does he think that that makes him seem like "one of the people" or something? And should he not be ashamed that a woman feels the need to do this in the country of which he is prime minister?
45

chezwicks,

midlands 19/02/2009 19:34:20
WOW i cant believe how nasty some people have been!!!!

I myself wish her all the best for her wedding, however short the marriage will be due to her illness. And with regard to her selling the story, she is trying to ensure she has provided for her boys once she has died, they will grown up without their loving mother.

God bless you jade xx
46

Horrible Cankers @Cyber Shebeen,

19/02/2009 19:37:24
To the people who are questionning who Jade Goody is and slating her for who she is..ask yourself this...why are you commenting on this story? To the people who are saying that she is a nobody why are you commenting on a story re a "Nobody"...

This is Warhols prediction...he said "In the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes"...how right that man was...ANYONE now has the opportunity to be famous and this is the reality of "pop" culture in the 21st century...WE made Jade Goody who she is...the Great British Public who bought into the concept of fly on the wall car crash tv...the people who slavered over the prospect of watching a nobody have a nervous break-down live on tv...come out of the closet...go back into the closet or even just say something to enthrall their captivated audience...Reality TV has allowed many a "Star" to be born from a nobody and now we will see one die also....

Jade Goody is not a very bright woman...she allowed us to laugh at her apparent stupidity, ignorant and ill-educated comments...she allowed herself to be manipulated into becoming the monster Jade...because the viewers WANT it....but she is also someone who comes from a difficult dysfunctional background and who grew up the hard way...she could have been a drug addict or alcoholic but she is not....in her death she will be providing for her children financially because she will not want them to have the life that she had....

Good luck to her...she has every right to end her days as she sees fit, and not one of you has the right to criticise her...who does not know someone close who has died from cancer...but there will probably be more people mourning the character of Jade Goody than there will be people mourning those we know who have passed on...this folks is reality entertainment today.....
47

Phil C,

19/02/2009 19:51:05
Whenever I see the name Max Clifford, I smell sh*te!
48

long live the supermarkets,

every little hurts 19/02/2009 19:51:25
Jade has been made by the media and might possibly die in the media spotlight who are we to judge her if the media want to pay her lots of money and people want to read about her or watch her on TV its up to Jade what she spends and how she spends her money and if young people read about and learn about this cancer and go for screening then surely that's a good thing.

49

Flint83,

19/02/2009 20:06:13
Finally, some people with sense!!

50

Observer,,

Glasgow 19/02/2009 20:45:29
I didn't make Jade Goody who she was and frankly I despise the so-called media ''culture'' she springs from. I am also very sad that she thinks she is looking after her children by selling her reality-death to gruesome voyuers who will derive pleasure from watching it. But what is most disgraceful is that the British Prime Minister is condoning this society that exploits mercilessly the Jade Goody's of the world, right up until the moment of her death.

FFS when a young woman dies she should not need to be thinking about the financial welfare of her children - that is what the welfare state is for, from cradle to grave. She should be thinking about their spiritual welfare and that does not mean a faux christening at the last moment, it should mean imparting to them what values she holds most dear. In her case it is obviously fame and fortune to the bitter end, but that is not her fault.

It is all very tragic.
51

Jingsitsme,

EDINBURGH 19/02/2009 21:51:30
It is tragic but its time we turned away and left her with dignity to enjoy final time in private with her children and family which they will treasure far more in the future than money. You can replace money but you can't quality time with someone.

In time they could look back and see all this filming and be quite upset at what they see when it could have been different.

Pain relief is there and so she will not suffer but it would be best in private with those closest around.

Max Clifford and all will be lining their pockets and have exploited Jade but now it has gone over the mark even for reality.
52

,

19/02/2009 23:14:38
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53

Machelpus,

20/02/2009 08:35:15
Class even comes into dying. can't remember name calling when two very famous middle class people were in the paper when they had cancer. Nigella Lawsons husband made money selling his story, can't remember him being called tawdry, Gloria Hunnigford was forever on radio and TV daughter also papers full of her story, books wrote and sold, was that tawdry? give the girl a break, she's dying for God's sake, she was made by reality now she's dying by it. if the programmes were not watched the celeb culture would wither and die.

 

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