Tuesday, 7 April 2009

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Michael Parkinson: Jade Goody represented wretched Britain

Chatshow legend says she wasn't a saint or a martyr

Michael Parkinson has retired from TV

Jade Goody shouldn’t be likened to Princess Diana, according to Michael Parkinson.

The chatshow legend's comments come days after the Big Brother star was laid to rest.  

‘Jade Goody has her own place in the history of television and, while it’s significant, it’s nothing to be proud of,’ Michael writes in the Radio Times.

‘Her death is as sad as the death of any young person, but it’s not the passing of a martyr or a saint or, God help us, Princess Di.’

'When we clear the media smoke screen from around her death what we're left with is a woman who came to represent all that's paltry and wretched about Britain today.'

Michael, 74, also claimed the star was 'manipulated and exploited till the day she died'.

Jade’s spokesman Max Clifford is disappointed by Parky’s remarks, saying: ‘I’m very sad and surprised at his comments.’ 

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