Jade Goody was the subject of a touching tribute from Davina McCall and Rylan Clark-Neal on Monday as they hosted Big Brother: Best Ever Shows.
The tragic reality star was just 27 when she lost her battle to cervical cancer in 2009, seven years after finding fame on the third series of Big Brother.
And as former hosts Davina and Rylan joined forces to look back on some of the highlights from the 2002 series, they brought viewers to tears as they rounded out their coverage by dedicating some heartwarming words to Jade.
Touching tribute: Late reality star Jade Goody was the subject of a touching tribute from on Monday as they hosted Big Brother: Best Ever Shows
‘We need to just take a minute and talk about Jade,’ Rylan said. ‘Because in BB3, she was probably the perfect housemate. If we had a factory where we had to build housemates she’d be one of the first.’
Sharing her own thoughts on the south London native, Davina added: ‘She was beautifully flawed. And I think all of us could relate to her in some form or another.
We felt for her, we cried with her, we laughed at her, then we started laughing with her, then we loved her with all of our hearts. She was just an extraordinary person.’
Looking back: The nostalgic episodes have been hosted by former Big Brother presenters Davina McCall and Rylan Clark-Neal, and they rounded out Monday’s coverage with a tribute
Happier times: A former dental nurse, Jade sprang to overnight fame on Big Brother in 2002, with her success seeing her invited back onto the show five years later
Their brief tribute yet heartfelt sparked a flurry of emotional tweets from viewers, who took to the micro-blogging platform to share their reactions.
‘Jade Goody FOREVER,’ wrote one viewer wrote shortly after the broadcast concluded. ‘So many tears. That’s all that needs to be said really.’
Wrote another: ‘Miss seeing #jadegoody she was just a normal girl & she grew on our hearts she made a great business woman R.I.P.JADE ALWAYS IN MY HEART XX.’
‘Feels bittersweet watching Jade Goody again,’ stated a third, followed by another who penned: ‘Good bless her. Jade Goody beautiful young girl so innocent and through her illness and vlogs she changed a law to bring smear tests forward.’
Heartbreaking: The tragic reality star was just 27 when she lost her battle to cervical cancer in 2009, seven years after finding fame on the third series of Big Brother
Reaction: Fans took to Twitter in droves to their share their reaction to the touching moment
Jade, who proved to be a controversial figure on the show, was seen mingling with a number of her housemates who would go on to become household names, including Alison Hammond, Kate Lawler, and Adele Roberts.
She placed fourth on the series, after making it to the final, from which Kate Lawler emerged as the victor. However, she returned to the Big Brother fold five years later.
A former dental nurse, Jade sprang to overnight fame on Big Brother in 2002, with her success seeing her invited back onto the show five years later to take part in the Celebrity version, alongside her mother Jackiey Budden and boyfriend Jack Tweed.
During her time in the house she formed a friendship with Danielle Lloyd and Jo O’Meara, but the trio were accused of bullying fellow housemate Shilpa Shetty.
Ofcom received 44,500 complaints from the public – a record at the time – with the trio accused of making racist remarks by referring to her as ‘Shilpa F***awalla’ and ‘Shilpa Poppadom’, among other comments.
Hugs: The reality star is seen hugging her co-star Kate Lawler during an episode of the show
Tears: Viewers revealed they were moved to tears after seeing Jade return to their screens
Such was the scandal at the time that although Shilpa did not lodge an official complaint about racist behaviour with Big Brother, her allegations compelled police to investigate the possible classification of her treatment as ‘racial hatred’.
In a Channel 4 documentary about Jade last year, Davina McCall recounted the moment she realised Jade’s popularity had waned as a result of the scandal.
She explained: ‘I felt such enormous joy at Jade’s popularity. Then, “Oh my God, what happened? How can it all turn in a nanosecond? She’s now become the most hated girl in Britain?”‘
Discussing how she felt before Jade’s infamous eviction interview – in which there was no studio audience for the star’s protection – Davina added: ‘It was a bit like knowing you’re about to ruin someone’s life forever, but they don’t know it yet. Ooof.’
Amends: Jade was diagnosed with cancer in 2008 while she was appearing on the Indian version of Big Brother in a bid to make amends for her row with Shilpa Shetty
Jade was diagnosed with cancer in 2008 while she was appearing on the Indian version of Big Brother in a bid to make amends for the race row.
After her diagnosis, Jade’s cancer spread to her bowel, liver and groin and she died on Mother’s Day in March 2009.
She left behind two sons, Bobby and Freddy, now 16 and 15, respectively, who are cared for by their father and Jade’s ex, Jeff Brazier.
In the year of Jade’s very public battle with cancer, just as attendance at screenings was beginning to decline, 0.4 million extra attendances occurred.
Jade’s Legacy was a campaign set up to echo her call for more women to go for screening.
Tragic loss: Jade’s cancer spread to her bowel, liver and groin and she died on Mother’s Day in March 2009. She left behind two sons, Bobby and Freddy, now 16 and 145, respectively