Bobby Brazier's nan 'would have loved' to see him on Strictly amid studio ban

10 December 2023 , 17:15

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Bobby Brazier's nan 'would have loved' to see him on Strictly amid studio ban

Bobby Brazier's grandmother Jackiey Budden has been supporting her grandson from afar during his time on Strictly Come Dancing after she revealed she's 'banned' from attending his performances.

Grandson Bobby has been dancing up a storm on the Strictly Come Dancing dancefloor alongside partner Dianne Buswell, yet grandmother Jackiey has claimed she's only been able to support him by watching him from the comfort of her home. The EastEnders actor and model reached the semi-final and has been cheered on from the audience by proud dad Jeff and brother Freddie, with his maternal grandmother notably absent from the BBC studio crowd.

Bobby's grandmother, who is the mother of Jade Goody, revealed she's been watching 'every moment' of Bobby's performances from home (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Jackiey Budden has claimed she is 'banned' from attending the Strictly performances (Phil Harris / Daily Mirror)

Jackiey told The Sun on Sunday: "Unfortunately I haven’t seen Bobby live. I would have loved to, but it’s just one of those things. I’ve been supporting him from home, watching every moment." The reasons behind Jackiey's absence are thought to be a longstanding fall out between Bobby's father Jeff Brazier and Jackiey, with Jeff bringing up his two sons after Jade's tragic death from cervical cancer in 2009.

A family friend told the Mail: "Jeff and Jackiey haven't got on for a long time and it has been hard. It has meant that Jackiey hasn't been able to be in the audience to watch Bobby, things are just too bad between her and his father. He and his brother Freddie are her only grandchildren and she adores them, there is nothing she would love more than to be there to watch him live."

The insider added that the family feud is a "very, very sad situation", with jackiey unlikely to be allowed to attend even if Bobby should make it to the Strictly final on Sunday 17th December.

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Bobby and dance partner Dianne performed two dances in the semi finals in their bid to try and secure a place in the Strictly final (PA)

A source close to Bobby and Jeff has also suggested there is a long-running feud between both sides of Bobby's family. They told The Sun: "There is a lot of friction between the Brazier side of the family and Jackiey for several long-standing reasons. But viewers have been surprised not to see Jackiey in the Strictly audience as she is Bobby’s grandmother. The prospect she is now facing is either not getting to see Bobby before he exits the semi-final, or not being allowed to watch him in person if he makes it to the final and wins the glitterball." The Mirror has reached out to Jeff Brazier for comment.

The finalists will be announced in tonight (Sunday 10 December) with Bobby up against fellow semi-finalists Layton Williams, Ellie Leach and Annabel Croft. Saturday night's show saw Bobby perform a Quickstep to Mack The Knife by Bobby Darin and Paso Doble to Run Boy Run by Woodkid, with strong praise from the judges for his dancing.

Niamh Spence