Jade Goody”s grandfather talks about their family”s agony ahead of her funeral

Just over four weeks ago, John Caddock proudly walked his granddaughter Jade Goody down the aisle. Last Thursday, he saw her again in her bridal gown – this time she was lying in a coffin. Since the day his beloved first grandchild died, 70-year-old John hasn’t even bothered going to bed. He knows he won’t sleep.
In an exclusive interview about the reality TV star, who lost her short battle with cancer on March 22, he reveals the agony Jade’s family are enduring as they face the prospect of her funeral on Saturday.
“I don’t sleep,” sighs John. “So I just sit here and think about Jade. I will grieve for her for ever.”
The silence in his home in Bermondsey, South London is broken only by the ticking of four pendulum clocks, one on each wall of the living room. It’s a sound that only adds to the sombre mood as John shares his grief.
“I can’t express what the loss of that girl is going to do – and not just for me,” he says. “If I could’ve swapped places with her, I would. If I could’ve taken all the pain away from her and have it for me instead, I would. “I was hoping for a miracle, right up until she died. But it never came. Some people linger with cancer but with Jade it was so quick. And now she’s gone, just like that. The world is going to be a sadder place without that girl.
“I was so, so proud of her. Not for what she achieved or for the money she made, but just for being her. For being Jade.”
Even after sitting with her at a Bermondsey funeral parlour, John can still hardly believe she is no longer here. “It was as if I kissed her, she might wake up,” he says. “So I kissed her a few times and spoke to her, just silly things. I asked her, ‘Why have you left us Jade?’”
Looking up to the sky, he adds: “They need her up there.“There’s a lot of people want cheering up in heaven. If anyone can do that, it’s our Jade.