Jade in hiding, but locals show support

There was no sign of Jade Goody at her home in Chipping Ongar, Essex, today.

The curtains were tightly drawn at the detached house in a quiet housing estate she shares with boyfriend Jack Tweed and her two sons.

The celebrity is currently involved in a race controversy following alleged bullying of Asian actress Shilpa Shetty.

One woman from Ongar told BBC Radio Essex: “I think it has all been blown out of proportion.

“Jade is not a racist. She fell out with someone of a different race and she is called a racist. Everything has gone too politically correct.

“Some of the things she said were a bit near the knuckle but I do not think she meant any harm. She doesn’t think before she speaks.

“She has apologised. What more can she do?”

Cheryl Fry, 24, a manager at nearby restaurant Smith’s, said: “Jade has been in here a few times with her boyfriend or with friends.

“She’s generally quite a loud person, but she’s a nice person. She is never rude, she’s always polite.

“Jade is someone who speaks her mind and I think Shilpa was very controlling and I don’t think Jade liked that.

“Jade is definitely not a racist. She is of mixed race herself and she recently hand-picked a personal assistant who is also mixed race.

“I do feel sorry for her because people are being nasty to her for no real reason. Jade didn’t say these things intentionally, she just doesn’t think before she speaks.

“Some of the others have said things behind Shilpa’s back, but Jade has always insisted on telling her things to her face.

“I do not think she would do anything to upset anybody unless they upset her first. There are a lot of nasty criminal people out there, Jade does not deserve to be vilified in this way.

“It was Jermaine who said that Jade’s mum was white trash and no-one seems to have brought that up.

“Jade is well liked around here and her friends will be there to support her.”

A Big Brother spokeswoman said that last night’s viewing figures for the show peaked at 8.8 million for the second part, and eight million for the first.