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Arts Editor Nina Nannar takes a look back at the life of an extraordinary campaigner and broadcaster
Broadcaster and campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen has died at the age of 86, her family said in a statement, as they paid tribute to the “most wonderful mother” and “cherished grandmother” who will be remembered for her “endless capacity for joy”.
Dame Esther, who had been living with lung cancer, had been a strong advocate for changing the law to allow dying adults to take their own lives in limited circumstances, without fear of their families being prosecuted for helping them.
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The former presenter, known for hosting shows such as That’s Life!, established charities to help the young and old.
Dame Esther hosted BBC consumer affairs show That’s Life! for 21 years from 1973 to 1994, which led to her setting up Childline in 1986, to provide counselling services for young people.
She later launched The Silver Line in 2012, which aims to tackle loneliness in older people.
In a statement, her family said: “Our adored mother Dame Esther Rantzen died today.
“Her legacy of compassion and understanding will live on in her charities Childline and the Silverline, and through those of us who were lucky enough to love and be loved by her.
Dame Esther Rantzen became a key figure in the assisted dying conversation. Credit: PA
“We are grateful she is finally at rest with her beloved husband, Desmond Wilcox, but we will miss her immeasurably. She was our sunshine.
“We will always remember her endless capacity for joy, her ability to comfort every heartache, her beautiful way with words and her expert guidance in all things.
“She was the most wonderful mother to us three children and a cherished grandmother to her five treasured grandchildren. We have been so lucky for so long, no matter how much time we had with Mum it could be never be enough, but we are so grateful for our lives together.
Dame Esther Rantzen (left) during a visit to Charlestown School in St Austell, Cornwall with Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall, in 2022. Credit: PA
“Mum’s work with charities and campaigning, particularly for children, older people, and the terminally ill, meant the world to her so thank you to everyone who has written to her, shared their stories with her over the years and worked alongside her.
“We hope the humour, ingenuity and audacity she brought to her work may continue to inspire you as it will do us.”We kindly ask that we are given privacy and time to grieve.”
The former That’s Life! presenter founded Childline and campaigned for legalising assisted dying. Credit: PA
Among those paying tribute was the prime minister, who said he “will always admire the characteristic courage and openness with which she spoke about her illness”.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has paid tribute to Dame Esther Rantzen, who has died at the age of 86.
He said: “Very sad to hear that Dame Esther Rantzen has died. Through her decades of campaigning, including founding Childline and The Silver Line, she changed countless lives and gave a voice to people who often went unheard.”
Dame Esther Rantzen’s “contribution to the BBC and public life was immeasurable”, BBC Director-General Matt Brittin said in a statement following her death.
Esther Louise Rantzen was born on June 22 1940, in Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, the older of two daughters in a Jewish family.
After graduating from Oxford and then training as a secretary, she joined the BBC initially as a trainee sound effects assistant.
Having worked as a researcher on a number of current affairs programmes, her breakthrough came when she joined the consumer affairs programme Braden’s Week and the producer decided to put the researchers working on its stories on screen.
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She launched ChildLine in 1986 with the Variety Club and the Department of Health each stumping up £25,000 while BT provided a freephone number – 0800 1111 – that would not show up on phone bills.
Staffed by volunteer counsellors – Rantzen among them – it went on to provide confidential support to more than 4 million young people, eventually merging with the NSPCC in 2005.
Receiving her damehood in 2015 from Princess Anne. Credit: PA
In January 2023, she went public with her diagnosis of lung cancer, saying that she found it difficult “to skulk around various hospitals wearing an unconvincing disguise, and because I would rather you heard the facts from me”.
When, in 2024, the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater tabled a private member’s bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, it reignited Rantzen’s campaigning instincts as she became one of its most vocal and most influential supporters.
She explained that she believed that she and others in her position should have the choice of shortening their death, not least to spare their loved ones from seeing them “suffering pain or indignity”.
Earlier this year, she revealed the “miracle drug” that had been keeping her alive was no longer working, and that she would not live long enough to see the change she believed was ultimately inevitable pass into law.
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