Freddy Brazier has revealed that he took money from his Celebrity Race Across the World budget to buy marijuana on Mother’s Day while filming the BBC show.
The 22-year-old, who is the child of Big Brother winner Jade Goody and TV presenter Jeff Brazier, competed on the BBC reality series with his dad in 2024, with the pair travelling 12,500km from Brazil to Chile and coming in third place. Goody died in 2009 from cervical cancer at the age of 27.
Since being on the show, Freddy has spoken out about his struggles with drug addiction and mental health, having previously revealed that he was sectioned in the past and that he began smoking marijuana at the age of 12.
In a new interview, the TV personality said his appearance on Celebrity Race Across the World came “at a bad time” for him mentally, and after finding out that he would be filmed for the show on Mother’s Day, Freddy snuck out of his accommodation to buy drugs. “It could have cost us the show,” he said.
“I almost forced myself to do [the show]. I weren’t in the place mentally and when I knew that we were going to be filming over Mother’s Day as well, I was like, ‘Oh f***, s***, I’m going to have cameras in my face. I want to be alone,’” he told the Terry Stone Connection podcast.
While Freddy and his dad “did something very beautiful” to mark the day by watching the sunset in Salvador, Brazil, the then-teenager “climbed out the hotel window” at night. “I remember the hotel lobby man saying, ‘This isn't the safest area,’ I was like, ‘I’m OK, I’m OK.’ I’ve gone to the beach and we’d seen these people before, they were couples and they make bracelets.
“They bought me a beer and I’ve taken some money out of the budget we were given and I’ve went and bought myself a three five [3.5 grams of marijuana] in Brazil on Mother’s Day. And smoked it with these two bracelet-makers on the beach while looking at the stars.
“And it was beautiful, but it was so wrong. And I was very selfish. And looking back and, reflecting as I’m speaking, I was very selfish to do so because that could have cost us the show.”
Freddy went on to say, however, that he thought he would’ve been kicked off the show if he hadn’t smoked the joint, as he “wasn’t in the greatest headspace” and “didn’t want to be filmed on Mother’s Day”.
The Independent has contacted the BBC for comment.
Elsewhere, Freddy revealed that he turned up to film interviews for the show after smoking marijuana the night before despite promising his father that he would stay sober.
“I’d had quite an extreme episode and I’d calmed down by the time of the interviews but I think I’d come down from Birmingham, I was seeing a girl from Birmingham at the time, and I’d smoked up there the night before the master interviews like a d***head after promising, ‘Dad, I’m not going to come there being high or having smoked 24 hours before because I want to be fresh. I want to be Fred.’
“Well, I lied. I turned up there, no sleep, knackered. I think I must have had bags under my eyes because the amount of f***ing makeup they put on me for the master interviews was a joke.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Freddy said that he was sectioned at the age of 17 after going into “drug-induced psychosis” from smoking marijuana, and was later diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and bipolar disorder. According to the NHS, BPD is a mood disorder, symptoms of which include emotional instability, disturbed patterns of thinking, impulsive behaviour, and intense, unstable relationships with others.
Meanwhile, bipolar disorder is often characterised by extreme changes in mood, which range from bouts of mania and episodes of depression.
In an episode of Celebrity Race Across the World in 2024, Freddy opened up about the death of his mother. “I don’t really like showing my emotions. I don’t even speak to my dad about my mum either,” he told the cameras at the time.
“I prefer to bottle it up. I don't want to feel like I’m a burden to them. A lot of my memories that I have of my mum have come from watching a documentary, YouTube clips, newspapers... they are not my memories.”
If you or someone you know is suffering from drug addiction, you can seek confidential help and support 24-7 from Frank, by calling 0300 123 6600, texting 82111, sending an email or visiting their website here.
In the US, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP
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