Inside Bobby Brazier's family feud - name calling, missing money, Jack Tweed ban
Bobby Brazier's family feud has been 'reignited' amid his dazzling Strictly Come Dancing journey.
The 20-year-old went on to become a finalist in the BBC dancing competition alongside professional Dianne Buswell and his family was behind him every step of the way, although not everyone was seemingly invited. Dad Jeff, his stepmum and younger brother Freddie were regularly filmed in the audience showing their support for the actor and often left in tears at his moving performances.
But the EastEnders star - son of TV personality Jade Goody, who died tragically in 2009 - has reportedly had to diffuse any tension whilst in the spotlight after being stuck in the middle of a fiery family fallout. His grandma Jackiey Budden, mum of Jade, took aim at Jeff earlier this year as the 66-year-old cruelly called him a "c***" and accused him of being mean to her "for nine years".
Jeff was with Jade for two years and welcomed sons Bobby and Freddie, and following the Big Brother star's death at the age of 27 from cervical cancer, the brothers lived permanently with their dad. TV presenter Jeff, 44, once hinted at the cause of the friction, explaining that there were numerous "pitfalls and stumbling blocks" in trying to maintain an amicable relationship with Jackiey after the separation, especially with kids involved.
For Jeff, he claimed Jackiey spoiled his sons with 'unsuitable' purchases that he had to 'confiscate' as a result. According to Jeff, Jade's mum bought Bobby and Freddie, who were both under 10 at the time, items including a hamster and mobile phone without consulting him first.
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Jade passed away in 2009 (Getty Images)
Jackiey is furious she was 'banned' from attending Strictly (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)He said: "Late nights and excessive amounts of sugar are a grandparents prerogative and were the least of my concerns. I got a phone call from an excitable Freddy telling me he was now the proud owner of a hamster! Great, I feel I have more responsibility than I really know what to do with as it is, let alone introducing a pet into the equation. As I explained to Jackiey, it would have been nice to have been asked because now I've been put into a position where I have to be the mean parent who says no and ruins the fun.
He continued: "This happened before with mobile phones. Yep, a year ago she got them a phone each so she could have direct contact with them both and I don't remember being asked if I minded on that occasion either. I understand she wants direct contact but they are just too young to be carrying these things around responsibly so we keep them to the house. I can't fault Jackiey when she's got the boys, I just wish we could work together a little better."
Eventually, the relationship broke down and Jackiey - who was reportedly banned from the Strictly set by Bobby to avoid any tension - didn't see her grandsons for several years.
Jeff Brazier with sons Bobby, left, and Freddie, right (Instagram)Jeff previously appeared on This Morning and spoke about their rocky relationship. He said: "It has ended very well, but five years ago she went off on her own path and it wasn't quite right to have that contact and she made it quite difficult because she went to Tenerife. But as she settled in herself, the boys kept a lot of contact with her and at the moment she's very helpful and very prominent in their lives."
Two years later, Bobby revealed on social media that he had reconnected with Jackiey after years apart. Asked by a follower online if he still saw his gran, said that his biggest goal in life was to have a Christmas dinner surrounded by his family - including 'both his grandmothers'.
Elaborating on their relationship, Bobby said: "Yeah. I didn't see her for ages for way too long. But I went to see her twice recently and honestly if there's one woman you shouldn't underestimate it's my nan. Honestly, she's like a wizard! It's nuts."
Jeff had been in the audience every week to see his son perform, but of the 22 tickets that the EastEnders star was allocated to his family, not one went to Jackiey. A source told The Sun that there has been "a lot of friction" between Jeff and Jackiey "for several long-standing reasons", and Bobby decided to simmer any drama by offering up the tickets to his dad, Jeff's wife Kate Dwyer, and little brother Freddie, 19.
The fallout between Jeff and Jackiey intensified after the National Television Awards in September, as she claimed she had to buy her own ticket to the bash to see her grandson Bobby win the Rising Star award. When quizzed by reporters following her arrival at the NTAs, Jackiey was asked about her relationship with Jeff, to which she simply replied: "He's a c***."
She then doubled down on her comment, and said she didn't have a problem calling Jeff that because "he has been one for f***ing nine years." Jackiey fumed: "When I came out for the NTA Awards, I'm loud and it's the drink and someone went 'oh I bet you're really proud' and 'how do you get on with Jeff Brazier' and I said 'he's a c***'. Next minute I'm on the internet and all over the papers."
She added: "Bobby doesn't need that stress on his head. He's my grandson." Meanwhile, her son-in-law Jack Tweedy has waded in on the argument, and pleaded with everyone involved to make amends in honour of Jade's memory.
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"Jade would not want [this]. She would just want peace for everybody. That is what is important," he told MailOnline. He went on to warn Bobby about being scammed by people in showbusiness, and added: "I know he has good people around him and he has a good head on his shoulders and his dad Jeff is looking after him... I found people constantly trying to turn you over and out to get you for their own benefit."
As Bobby was preparing to compete in the Strictly final, Jackiey was photographed visiting her daughter’s grave, and left a photograph of him and Dianne on her headstone. The couple performed their couple's choice on Saturday, which was a tribute to Bobby’s late mum, and Jackiey was reportedly furious that she’d been ‘banned’ from watching him dance. “Jade loved her mum and would have wanted her to be there to support Bobby,” a source revealed.
Unlike with Jeff, Jackiey has publicly shown an alliance with her daughter's husband Jack Tweed. Jack and Jade tied the knot on February 22 at Down Hall Country House Hotel in Harfield Heath, Essex, which Jade described as "the happiest day of my life". She added: "Now I'm ready to go to heaven." She died just two weeks later.
Jack and Jackiey were both by Jade's side when she passed away and leaned on each other for support in the months after. But by his own admission, Jack 'went off the rails', prompting Jeff to ban him from seeing the boys on account of his partying. Admitting Jeff's decision was 'probably right', he told how in more recent years he has reconnected with his step-sons. "I have seen the boys and I speak to them," he told Closer. "On one occasion, Jeff came with them and we had a family lunch together, which was really nice.
Menwhile, in 2019, devastated former drug addict Jackiey told the Mirror that she still sleeps with her daughter's nightie for comfort before praising Jack over his treatment of her daughter, hailing him the 'best boyfriend she ever had'. "He is the only man who never took anything off of her," she said of the star, who didn't receive anything in Jade's will.
"He always took her on holiday, he's always taken the kids on holiday. Jack doesn't do it for the wonga. Everyone used to think Jack used to be with Jade for money but it's not true."
Jade left nothing for Jack as she prioritised her sons (Getty)The mystery of Jade's missing millions has long been questioned. The telly star worked tirelessly selling interviews and pictures up until her untimely death and managed to raise an impressive £3 million to leave in a trust fund for her boys - and insisted the cash should be used to privately educate her sons
In 2014, Jeff explained: "The first thing she did was work out how much it would cost to put the boys through private education until they were 16. The answer was £260,000. In her last months that was what drove her on, even when she was so weak and in terrible pain. It was all that mattered to her. She so desperately wanted them to have the upbringing she had never had."
Speaking in 2019, Jackiey, who received £10,000 in the will, claimed there was plenty of money left. But a year later, Jack, who received nothing but her £14,000 six-year-old Volkswagen, claimed the money had "vanished" and admitted that as a named beneficiary, he should have paid closer attention. "I don't want to accuse anyone because I don't know the full story but something doesn't seem right. Something doesn't add up," he told The Sun. "I probably should have been more involved with the money situation, seeing where it all went and making sure the kids got it and it didn't get wasted by anyone. But it didn't feel right for me to get involved in that at the time."
In 2011 it was reported that Jade's money had taken a substantial hit due to a £1.8million tax bill after she allegedly didn't pay any income tax for the last four years of her life. In 2014, Jeff said the taxman wanted more money after it was ruled that expenses and losses from her Ugly beauty salon in Essex did not qualify for tax relief.
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