Jeff Brazier has revealed the lengths he has gone to in trying to protect his son Freddy from substance misuse, including searching the streets for him, appealing to police for help and physically blocking the front door to stop him leaving home.
The television presenter, 47, spoke on the On The Mend podcast with Busted star Matt Willis about the emotional toll of watching his 22-year-old son struggle with addiction over the past six years. He described repeated efforts to intervene that ultimately could not break what he called a cycle of addiction.
He 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."
'What else can I do?'
Brazier described the most distressing part of the period as witnessing Freddy endure episodes of psychosis connected to drug use. He said: "That's when his behaviour is not his own. And 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 that you turn your back because he needs to be near the things that he perceives himself to need."
Freddy has been sectioned and undergone rehabilitation, but Brazier conceded that "that still wasn't enough for that behaviour to change". He said he remains committed to supporting his son, adding: "What else can I do but keep trying? I just keep trying. I'm never going to stop. I just always want to support him. It's what Jade would be absolutely insisting that I do."
'It's got to be his call'
Brazier also discussed Freddy's difficult relationship with his maternal grandmother, Jackiey Budden, noting that earlier this year reports emerged of legal action to limit contact between them. He said: "Fred has been through a lot in the last eight years. In particular, he has a very tricky relationship with his maternal grandmother. But oddly, it's really difficult to protect your child from someone that they're related to, especially if they're the last surviving blood relative of the person that you've lost that you love the most."
He acknowledged that meaningful change can only happen when Freddy decides it for himself, saying: "I've tried to provide every route that would lead him out of it... But it hasn't quite transpired that he's ready. And 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 climbing out of the cycle."
Family reflections and loss
During the podcast, Brazier also spoke about his own childhood, which included time in foster care and moving to a women's refuge with his mother and younger brother at 13. He reflected on his relationship with Jade Goody, who died from cervical cancer in 2009, saying they were united in wanting to give their children a secure and unconditional love.
He said: "And one thing that we were both united on is we were going to make sure that these kids knew just our love. And it wouldn't be conditional. It would be absolutely rock solid. And whether they were good, bad, indifferent, they were always going to be loved. And that remains in place to this day."
Brazier said Goody's absence is still felt daily, and he spoke emotionally about the moments she missed, including son Bobby's recent catwalk appearance in Milan. He said: "She just would have been cheering and clapping and shouting out... And it's just one of the most unfair things in life when you think what was taken away from her and also what was taken away from them."
Despite ongoing struggles, Brazier said he hoped the family could move forward together, adding: "So we're in a difficult situation at the moment where there's a lot for us to work through together. And I hope that next time that we speak that there'll be some kind of positive conclusion that means that we can all try and work together."
