Davina McCall reveals moment she knew Jade Goody's life 'was ruined' by CBB stint in new documentary

5 August 2019, 11:48 | Updated: 7 August 2019, 14:38

By Naomi Bartram

@naomibartram

Davina McCall has reflected on Jade Goody's Celebrity Big Brother exit interview in a brand new documentary.

To mark the ten year anniversary since her tragic death, Channel 4 are broadcasting a special documentary which explores the life Jade Goody.

After becoming the first reality TV star to earn a million pounds following her stint on Big Brother in 2002, Jade returned to the house for a celebrity version in 2007.

But when she clashed with Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, Jade found herself in the middle of a race row along with S Club 7’s Jo O’Meara and Danielle Lloyd.

And in emotional scenes from the new programme, TV host Davina McCall has recalled how she knew Jade’s life was “ruined forever” during her time on CBB.

Read More: Jeff Brazier shares throwback snap of Jade Goody to mark her 38th birthday

Davina said: “Jade was going into that house as the nation’s sweetheart. We were excited about that. And I couldn’t wait to see what she brought.

“But I remember almost immediately thinking this is a bad combo.

"It’s like three British young girls all coming together, and then forming a gang basically. It started to be bullying and I was like ‘man you are careering off the tracks you are so going in the wrong direction’.”

By the time Jade was evicted from CBB, more than 44,000 complaints had been made to Ofcom over her treatment of Shilpa - and as a result, no eviction crowd was invited to the studio.

Davina also admitted that she felt awful interviewing Jade knowing what the public thought of her.

Read More: Jeff Brazier reveals how his and Jade Goody's sons reacted to her cancer

She continued: “I remember thinking 'Oh my God what’s happened?' How it can all turn in a nano second.

"She’s now become the most hated girl in Britain. It was a bit like knowing you’re about to ruin someone’s life forever, but they don’t know it yet. Ooof.”

Dermot O’Leary, who hosted spin off Big Brother’s Little Brother, later added why he struggled to interview her as well.

“It was absolutely insane, the story just got so big so quickly," he told the documentary.

"I remember seeing… guys burning effigies of Jade in India and I thought this s*** has got absolutely out of hand.

“The incendiary nature of the whole thing made us really quite worried about her... at the same time it would have been remiss of me in my job not to hold her to account. Yeah, it was difficult.”

When is Jade: The Reality Star Who Changed Britain on TV?

The documentary will air on Wednesday 7th August at 9pm on Channel 4.

How many episodes are there?

There are three one-hour episodes which run over three weeks.

What is it about?

Featuring exclusive interviews with her loved-ones and never-before-seen clips, the series follows the star’s rise to fame on Big Brother in 2002, as well as her shock 'race row' involving Shilpa Shetty and her devastating cancer diagnosis in 2009.

It was directed by award-winning film-maker Rob Coldstream, who has said the documentary mirrors many huge debates about fame, race and gender. “Jade was a hugely charismatic personality,” he said.

“She made an indelible impact on our culture – and her incredible life story holds up a mirror to many of the big themes and preoccupations of our time – from fame and celebrity to race and gender politics.”

Alisa Pomeroy, commissioning editor of documentaries at Channel 4, added: ”Jade is a figure who couldn’t have existed at any other moment in history.

“Her story is the story of the noughties and I’m very excited about what will essentially be a popular history series, told through the prism of an electric, much-loved personality.”