Jeff Brazier says Jade Goody's 'void is felt on a daily basis' and her loss is the 'root source' of their son Freddy's challenges

Jeff Brazier has said Jade Goody's 'void' is the 'root source' of their Freddy's addiction and mental health battle. 

Freddy, 22, who is the son of the late Jade Goody, has had a difficult few years battling a cannabis addiction as well as severe mental health struggles, including psychosis. 

Appearing on Matt Willis's podcast On The Mend, Jeff spoke about the difficulty he has faced as a father as his boys grieved the loss of their mother. 

Jade died from cervical cancer on Mother's Day in 2009, leaving behind sons Freddy and Bobby, 23. 

The boys came to live with Jeff after Jade's passing and he said he struggled in the early days that the boys, who were only aged four and five at the time, hadn't cried. 

He said: 'I was worried that in the early stages, they hadn't really done some of the things that I was expecting them to. It took till maybe eight or nine months in for them to actually really fall apart. 

'That's when I think it really began in that I recognised very quickly that I couldn't be the answer to these overgrown sort of bouts of emotion and bad behaviour.'

Jeff added: 'I try to do as much as I can, but you can never replace. I didn't ever try and replace her. 

'And I think a lot of people maybe get it wrong when they say, "You've been mum and dad". I think that I feel disrespectful to Jade if I ever acknowledge that and said, "Yeah, thank you". I was the dad. I could only play that role. 

'Her void is felt on a daily basis because our family is far from perfect. We've got a lot of challenges that we still face to this day.' 

Jeff said he believes the boys' loss of their mother is the 'root source' of the challenges Freddy has faced. 

The TV presenter added during the boys' childhood it was hard to draw the line between bad behaviour and grief. 

He said: 'What I found really difficult is you can't make two bereaved boys talk about their mum if they're not ready to and if they don't want to. And that's really difficult for the surviving parent.

'But what if they don't want to talk? What if they don't want to go to therapy? Do you instantly feel like you're failing?

'And what that shouldn't then inform is that you double down on sort of almost being a little bit too insistent that they do things that they're not ready. 

'It's just the trickiest and the most undesirable sort of situation that you can find yourself in as a dad.'

Freddy previously claimed his grandmother Jackiey Budden got him hooked on drugs aged just 12.

Jeff tried to use complex court paperwork to prevent the aspiring model from seeing Jackiey 'to keep him safe', after it emerged that Freddy and Jackiey would smoke cannabis together at her flat.

Freddy sided with his grandmother, and Jeff dropped the action.

He told fans last year he has been addicted to smoking from a young age and would be heading to rehab.

Reflecting on the hardship, 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.'

During Freddy's psychotic episodes, when his behaviour is out of control and not his own, Jeff said he would even go out searching the streets to try find him and bring him home as you don't know what could happen to him. 

Freddy recently said he has to do 'deep work on myself' to deal with his trauma and is going to start therapy soon. 

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article contact Mind on 0300 123 3393 or if you need help with addiction call FRANK 24 hours a day, seven days a week on 0300 123 6600.