Jade Goody diagnosed with cancer

(Reuters)

Reality TV star Jade Goody has cancer, her spokesman said today. The news was broken to the 27-year-old mother-of-two while she was appearing in the Indian version of Big Brother.

The Sun reports Goody was called in to the Diary Room, where she spoke to her consultant in the UK by telephone. She then burst into tears and ran into the house in hysterics, telling housemates: "I have cancer".

She was immediately withdrawn from the show and is flying back home for treatment.

Her spokesman told the Sun: "She went for tests and results have come back and she has cancer of the womb.

"She was phoned up and informed. This is a massive blow for her."

The newspaper reports Goody had undergone hospital tests earlier this month after her third cancer scare. It followed four mystery collapses.

It is believed she went on the Indian show to try to make amends after being accused of racism on last year's Celebrity Big Brother.

The show features 12 Indian celebrities and is hosted by Shilpa Shetty, 33, the Bollywood star who won the hearts of viewers after being bullied by Goody and other housemates.

Goody was thought to be earning up to £100,000 for her appearance on the show, called Bigg (correct) Boss.

Ofcom received more than 50,000 complaints about Goody, Danielle Lloyd and former S Club singer Jo O'Meara's alleged racist bullying, with Goody referring to Shetty as "Shilpa Poppadom".

After Goody was evicted, she said she was "embarrassed and disgusted" by her own behaviour in the house but denied she was a racist.

Goody's money-spinning contracts dried up - her perfume, Shh..., was taken off the shelves and publishers decided to drop a paperback edition of her autobiography.

Gordon Brown, who was then Chancellor, was forced to defend Britain as a "country of fairness and tolerance" and the TV star visited India, where her effigy had been burnt during the race row.