Jeff Brazier speaks out on emotional toll Race Across The World had on son Freddy

Jeff Brazier says he and Bobby struggled on Mother's Day this year
-Credit: (Image: BANG Showbiz.)


Jeff Brazier has opened up about how Mother's Day took an emotional toll on him and his son Freddy during their appearance on 'Celebrity Race Across The World. ' Jeff, a familiar face on ' This Morning ', shared the heart-wrenching challenge he and his 20-year-old son faced while filming the gruelling BBC One show. The pair, who lost wife and mother Jade Goody to cervical cancer in 2009, experienced difficulty when the annual day to celebrate mothers arrived amid their travels.

The 45-year-old TV personality revealed: "The biggest challenge was missing Mother's Day. It really brought a different perspective to the race." Jeff continued disclosing the depth of the challenge: "It wasn't about what route to go. It wasn't necessarily about what to experience either. It was just what we could do that was going to feel fitting or was going to feel enough."

Jeff and his youngest son Freddy on the BBC show
Jeff and his youngest son Freddy on the BBC show -Credit:BBC

"You feel a lot of pressure as a parent to come up with some kind of solution and you're relying on Brazil a little bit, relying on places you've never been to before and the bus and the infrastructure. But it's just difficult."

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Brazier explained how the poignant date affected their journey, adding: "The Race is difficult enough as it is and then you throw that, as a consideration, into the mix. It took Fred the rest of the leg to settle. That was a leg and a half."

Bobby Brazier
Jeff's eldest son Bobby stars on EastEnders -Credit:BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron

Moreover, Jeff, who also shares Bobby Brazier, 21, with Jade Goody, spoke of how their relationship evolved throughout their trek across South America, saying their teamwork was dynamic against competitors like Kelly Brook and Scott Mills.

He shared: "Our relationship didn't stop shifting. There was a real kind of taking ownership and responsibility on Freddy's part. The leg where we had to deal with Mother's Day knocked the wind out of him a little bit and then he came back and he sort of wanted to be a passenger for a little bit."

"There was a lot of ebb and flow. But I'm proud that it was at least dictated by Fred. It would have been good, in hindsight, if the whole thing was just about Freddy coming of age and making all the decisions, but sometimes he didn't want that. The way that we worked as a team definitely ebbed and flowed."

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