EastEnders’ Heather Peace, 50, and wife Ellie Dickinson both face breast cancer
EastEnders star Heather Peace has revealed she and her wife Ellie Dickinson have both been battling breast cancer in a heartbreaking…
Trisha Goddard has revealed it was her daughter Billie Dee who gave her the final push to take part in Celebrity Big Brother.
The TV icon, 67, best known for her self-titled talk show Trisha, made her entrance into the famous house on Monday night – despite reportedly turning down the offer multiple times in the past.
Trisha, who last year confirmed the return of the cancer she first battled in 2008, opened up about her decision on Davina McCall’s Begin Again podcast.
Trisha candidly admitted that she had no real intention of joining the show, even after repeated invitations over the years.
However, a simple conversation with her oldest daughter Billie, 35, changed everything.
She said: ‘So this time I was asked and I said to my daughter, my older daughter, I said, “Oh God, as usual, they’ve asked me to go do Big Brother.”
Trisha Goddard has revealed it was her daughter Billie Dee who gave her the final push to take part in Celebrity Big Brother
The TV icon made her entrance into the house on Monday – despite reportedly turning down the offer multiple times in the past (pictured with Billie in 2020)
‘And she said, “Mum, while you’re going through this whole cancer shenanigans, you have become passionate about the language around it.
‘”The lack of joined up services, the way the press reports it, the misinformation, you’re doing it on Instagram, you’re supporting people,” and they support me… you know, my daughter said “you got all of these stuff you’re passionate about.”
‘I’ve done local press in America about it… she said, “Mum, this is your opportunity for people to see what you’re talking about, not just the words, to actually see, what 3.4 million people, according to the Macmillan, by December, 3.4 million people in the UK alone are living with cancer.”
‘Six million people are living with a chronic illness now. Now they’re not all on benefits. Most of them are working.
‘A lot of them keep it secret because they think they won’t get further work or they’ll be fired. And that’s a very real fear.
‘But all those millions of people who could benefit from better joined up services, people using better language around them. All of those things… So I said yes.’
The star, who is also mum to Madison, 32, relocated to the US in 2010 as she devastatingly revealed the cancer ‘is not going away’ and keeping the secret was ‘becoming a burden’.
But, while she was ‘nervous’ about revealing the cancer’s re-emergence, ‘it needed to be done’.
The TV star revealed back in February last year that her incurable cancer had returned after cells were found in her hip following a fall, and she is undergoing life-prolonging treatment
She received the terminal diagnosis 20 months ago.
The mother-of-two has secondary breast cancer – meaning the disease started in the breast and spread to another part of the body – for which there is treatment but no cure.
‘You talk to people and you say you have stage four metastatic cancer. But there’s stage four and there’s stage four’, she said.
‘You can have a few cells and you’re stage four. You can have cancer in your brain, your heart, you know, God forbid, and you’re stage four.
‘So people hear metastatic and they don’t think about the fact that there are people with metastatic breast cancer being treated by my oncologist who have been around for twenty years. So it’s a huge thing.
‘But people hear metastatic and it’s terminal, which isn’t used in the medical world, it’s life-limiting.
‘You’re written off and there’s just pity towards you. Anyone going through it, and the Princess of Wales said it perfectly, you’re living with uncertainty, but all you get is pity.
‘I can categorically tell you there are lots of people in lots of industries who are living with cancer who’ve never said a word for that reason.
‘I was doing something the other day and a person revealed to me that they were about to go and get their treatment plan, they were whispering and said, “I can’t let anybody else know about this because I might lose my job.” That’s so wrong.’
Trisha now hosts on TalkTV and occasionally appears on Good Morning Britain and lives in Connecticut with her fourth husband, Allen, who she married in 2022.
CELEBRITY BIG BROTHER 2025: MEET THE LINEUP!
MICKEY ROURKE
AGE: 72
FAMOUS FOR: The actor and former pro boxer is one of the show’s biggest ever signings and after public feuds with Robert De Niro, two marriages and a string of high profile relationships, producers will be hoping he brings plenty of drama.
DALEY THOMPSON
AGE: 66
FAMOUS FOR: The double Olympic gold-medallist is considered one of Britain’s greatest athletes, and he would no doubt cause a stir with younger celebrities if he entered the house. He broke the decathlon world record four times.
PATSY PALMER
AGE: 52
FAMOUS FOR: It’s an open secret that Patsy is leaving EastEnders, with the actress enjoying a wild leaving party this month. The Bianca Jackson star posted a snap of her character on Instagram with the caption: ‘Bye bye B, always grateful to see her again.’
DONNA PRESTON
AGE: 38
FAMOUS FOR: While Donna has featured in several TV shows and movies, the comedy star is known for hosting Apocalypse and for the role of a circus Compere in 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald. She plays Den in Coronation Street, has featured in Pants On Fire in 2019 and even wrote and co-produced BBC Three’s Comedy Threesomes.
CHESNEY HAWKES
AGE: 53
FAMOUS FOR: The singer topped the charts for five weeks in 1991 with his hit The One And Only, before making a string of acting and TV appearances. His arrival on CBB has been described by a TV source as ‘perfect timing’, as he’s set to release a comeback album in April.
ANGELLICA BELL
AGE: 49
FAMOUS FOR: The TV presenter is said to have landed a staggering five-figure deal to appear on Celebrity Big Brother. Fans will be keen to see if the CBBC legend spills all on her untimely exit from The Martin Lewis Show – which left fans baffled back in 2023. Angellica currently co-presents Hits Radio while Fleur East is on maternity leave.
DANNY BEARD
AGE: 32
FAMOUS FOR: The RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner – whose real name is Daniel Curtis – has signed up as a late entry. Danny previously made headlines after swearing on Big Brother’s Late & Live last March whilst doing an impression of housemate Louis Walsh. The incident saw the guest say the word ‘c***’ before immediately apologising after being informed they weren’t allowed to say that on the show.
CHRIS HUGHES
AGE: 32
FAMOUS FOR: After shooting to fame on Love Island in 2017, Chris went on to become a sports presenter and regularly hosts the horse racing coverage on ITV.
JOJO SIWA
AGE: 21
FAMOUS FOR: The American singer, who shot to stardom on reality show Dance Moms, is expected to draw a big American audience. The hitmaker has made a name for herself in the U.S. pop charts and is known for her outlandish looks and being a vocal member of the LGBTQ+ community.
TRISHA GODDARD
AGE: 67
FAMOUS FOR: The talk show host regularly presented on ITV from 1998 to 2004 and then shifted to Channel 5 from 2004 to 2010. Trisha has been suffering horrible side effects of her chemotherapy – but has bravely battled on.
JACK P. SHEPHERD
AGE: 37
FAMOUS FOR: The actor has played David Platt in Corrie since 2000 and is following in his pal Colson Smith’s footsteps by taking part in the popular reality show. He has won a string of awards for the role including Best Actor at the British Soap Awards.
ELLA RAE WISE
AGE: 24
FAMOUS FOR: Producers have been keen to land the TV personality, who previously dated Pete Wicks and has had an on-off romance with Dan Edgar. Bosses are hoping the TOWIE star might reveal all about some of her other famous exes.
MICHAEL FABRICANT
AGE: 74
FAMOUS FOR: The former Conservative politician is understood to have signed a lucrative six-figure deal to take part after political stars were banned from the broadcaster’s other reality show, I’m A Celeb. He served as MP for Lichfield in Staffordshire from 1992 until his defeat in 2024 as well as vice-chairman of the party under David Cameron. But he is perhaps best known for his blond mop for which he has been widely ridiculed but repeatedly denies is a wig.
