Reality television star Jade Goody, who was diagnosed with cervical cancer last year, has died, her publicist said this morning.
The 27-year-old, who was told she had cancer in August while appearing on Bigg Boss, the Indian version of Big Brother, died in her sleep at her home in Upshire, Esssex, at 3.14am, Max Clifford said.
The prime minister led tributes to Goody, praising her bravery and the way she raised awareness of cancer.
Clifford said Goody's mother, Jackiey Budden, and husband Jack Tweed were at her side when she died. A family friend, Kevin Adams, was also there. Budden called Clifford to tell him: "My beautiful daughter is at peace."
Speaking outside her home, wearing pyjamas with a coat over the top, she added: "Family and friends would like privacy at last."
In a statement Gordon Brown said he was "deeply saddened" by the news.
"She was a courageous woman both in life and death and the whole country has admired her determination to provide a bright future for her children."
Conservative leader David Cameron said: "Her legacy will be to save the lives of more young women in the future. My thoughts are with her family and particularly her two young sons at this terrible time."
Mourners started arriving at the house to pay tribute to Goody within minutes of the news breaking. They left floral tributes at the gates of her home. Goody's body was taken out of her home and placed in the back of an estate car shortly before 8am.
Clifford said: "She died as she lived, in the public eye … it was her way of handling it."
He said that the funeral service would be held at Goody's local church, St John the Baptist in Buckhurst. He said she had wanted to be buried in the church cemetery, but it is full and so plans are still being made for a burial site. No date has been set for the funeral but it is likely to take place in the next 10 days.
In spite of undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy, Goody learned in February that the cancer had spread to other organs and was warned she had only a short time to live. The prognosis propelled her to try to secure the financial future of her two young sons, Bobby, five, and Freddie, four, through a series of media deals thought to be worth £1m.
Her wedding to Jack Tweed on 22 February took place behind closed doors as part of an exclusive magazine and television deal. Tweed, 21, was able to spend the night with his bride after Jack Straw, the justice secretary, intervened to waive the groom's curfew. Tweed was banned from going out at night following his release from prison for attacking a 16-year-old boy with a golf club. He has since been found guilty of a further assault.
Goody, a former dental nurse, shot to fame on the 2002 series of Big Brother, where she was ridiculed by media commentators for her appearance and ignorance – she asked whether East Anglia was "abroad" and thought Rio de Janeiro was a person. She finished fourth and spent the next couple of years making the most of her fame - producing keep-fit DVDs, opening a beauty salon, writing her autobiography, launching her own perfume and appearing on television shows including Celebrity Wife Swap and Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes.
The public turned against her in 2007 after she was accused of racism and bullying towards Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty on Celebrity Big Brother. More than 45,000 people complained to the media regulator Ofcom about Goody's behaviour towards Shetty. Goody visited India to apologise for the distress her actions had caused and had hoped her appearance on Bigg Boss would also help to make amends. She left the show to return to the UK after discovering during filming that she had cancer. Specialists reported a rise in demand for cervical cancer screening following Goody's diagnosis. Cervical cancer is the second biggest cancer killer of women in their early 30s in the UK.
After learning that her cancer might be terminal, Goody told the News of the World: "I've lived my whole adult life talking about my life. The only difference is that I'm talking about my death now. It's OK.
"I've lived in front of the cameras. And maybe I'll die in front of them."
Simon Hughes, MP for North Southwark and Bermondsey in south London where Goody grew up, said: "Jade Goody was a Bermondsey girl who went from public ridicule and public rebukes to public respect and public sympathy."
Stephen Fry, who appeared with Goody on Jonathan Ross's chatshow, said she was "a kind of Princess Di from the wrong side of the tracks". Writing on microblogging site Twitter, he joined thousands of others by paying a tribute online. "All impulsive spirit & smiles. What a life," he wrote.
