Shame on you if you ever doubted the power of Big Brother.

Trisha Goddard on Celebrity Big Brother (Image: REX/Shutterstock for Big Brother)

I’ve been a vigorous cheerleader for  Big Brother ever since I entered its hallowed portals in the first ever celebrity version in 2001. I’ve argued, were he living at this hour, Shakespeare would pitch up as a BB housemate, eager to glean the mysteries of human behaviour unleashed within.

I’ve also suggested George Orwell would have been a fascinated fan, that Chaucer would re-write The Canterbury Tales to delve deeper into the TV format… and that Mickey Rourke would wander into the house, dazed and confused. Oh wait, he just did! Never did I expect to hear Marcus Bentley say “Trisha and Patsy are in the garden talking about Trisha’s cancer.”

Those who doubted the show’s power should hang their heads in shame. Former talk show host Trisha Goddard is doing something remarkable live on television and Big Brother’s bosses at ITV are facilitating her heroic feat.

Trisha’s been diagnosed with stage-4 terminal breast cancer. She knows that her days are numbered.  Instead of spending them with her beloved husband she’s braving the cameras to show sufferers and their families, even in the throes of extreme illness, that life is for living.

Let’s not forget just a few years ago most Brits didn’t dare utter the word “cancer” in public. The “Big C” struck terror into all our hearts. A diagnosis felt like a death sentence.  We dreaded even thinking of cancer. We knew nothing about living with the disease, surviving and thriving.

We didn’t talk about survival rates, remission or breakthrough drugs. We were far too scared. The magical medical breakthroughs of last 15 years have redrawn the cancer picture. For many, a diagnosis now means treatment, followed by a long, happy and fulfilling life.

Brave, beautiful Trisha Goddard could be called one of the unlucky ones. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 and had clear scans for more than ten years. In 2022 she was found to have metastatic secondary breast cancer. Her mission, though, is to show her vitality, zest for new experience, sense of humour and mischief-making are as vibrant as ever.

She is snatching an adventure from the jaws of death. She is perfectly imperfect, cheeky and exhausted, sometimes in pain, but the very quintessence of herself.

A remarkable example of courage, guts and gusto, and brings cheer and hope in the face of hopelessness. The Big Brother social experiment continues to deliver.