Jeff Brazier has said he went to the police in an effort to help his 22-year-old son Freddy through his substance abuse issues.
The TV presenter, 47, said Freddy goes “into a form of psychosis” when he uses drugs, and that he has several times had to go out looking for him. Jeff had Freddy and his older son Bobby, 23, with Big Brother star Jade Goody, who died in 2009 from cervical cancer.
Appearing on Matt Willis’ On The Mend podcast, Jeff said: “To see your son suffer in that way and not be able to appeal to his better nature to stop that addiction cycle… “I couldn’t do anything to stop it. And I tried standing in front of the front door, I tried going to the police.
“For six years, the thing that’s been hardest, the most challenging, is that he would go into a form of psychosis when he used. “That’s when his behaviour is not his own, that’s when he’s just walking the streets and you don’t know what could happen to him.
“I’ve had to go looking for him on countless occasions and trying to bring him to safety, only for him to then flee the minute you turn your back.”
Jeff said Freddy has been to rehab and has been sectioned but it “wasn’t enough for that behaviour to change”.
He added: “What I’m relying on now, because I don’t control it, is I’m relying on Fred to mature to the point where, and I hear him talking about it and I hear him understanding it more.
“I’ve tried to provide every route that would lead him out of it and always try and be that voice of reason that encourages him to try this and try that. It hasn’t quite transpired that he’s ready. “What I learned a while ago is that it’s got to be his call and when he’s ready and only then really will you ever see him climb out of the cycle.”
Father and son appeared together on Celebrity Race Across The World in 2024. During that series, filmed in Brazil, Freddy admitted on the Terry Stone Connection podcast that he used the show’s budget to purchase marijuana while filming.
Willis noted that, during Freddy’s appearance on the show, he said of his father: “At times when I’ve pushed away, he’s pulled me back even harder to bring me back in.”
In response, Jeff said: “He’s a smart kid, he does know, he just doesn’t seem to have the control. There’s always a glimmer. He knows what will help. “I’ve always seen acknowledgement from Fred. He understands a lot of what’s going on, why it’s happening, how his choices have maybe led to certain outcomes.
“Sometimes the guard goes up and there’s a lack of accountability, which can frustrate in the karma moments. “That acknowledgement and those words, what else can I do but keep trying? I just keep trying.
“I’m never going to stop. I always want to support him.
“It’s what Jade would be absolutely insisting that I do. I’m trying to be the dad to the boys that I guess I didn’t have the experience of.”
A representative for Freddy said: “Freddy is in a really positive place in his life at the moment. He is focused on his wellbeing and continuing to make positive steps forward.
“Like many young people, Freddy has faced challenges, but he is looking firmly towards the future and is surrounded by people who care about and support him.”
Freddy reportedly began smoking at the age of 12 and has struggled with his mental health over the years, including going to rehab and experiencing manic episodes.
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