Esther Rantzen – broadcaster, charity founder, and assisted dying campaignerpublished at 19:15 BST
19:15 BST
Image caption,
Rantzen with fellow That’s Life! presenters Howard Leader, Kevin Devine, and Gavin Campbell in 1993
A broadcaster
Dame Esther Rantzen presented the BBC show That’s Life! for 21 years during its run from 1973 to 1994, a show that blended consumer rights investigations and entertainment.
She later went on to appear in Strictly Come Dancing, and was inducted into the Royal Television Society’s hall of fame in 1997.
A charity founder
It was through her work on That’s Life! that Rantzen founded Childline in 1986, a charity that offers a private and confidential helpline for children.
When they set up a helpline for an episode of the BBC television programme on child abuse, the presenter’s team was inundated with calls.
Afterwards, Rantzen realised there was an urgent need for an outlet for vulnerable children to talk about the taboo subject of child abuse.
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption,
Rantzen was made a dame at a Buckingham Palace ceremony in 2015
Later on in 2013, Rantzen set up another telephone service. The Silver Line helpline provided a line for people aged 55 or older to tackle feelings of loneliness and isolation that many older people experience.
In 2015, Rantzen was recognised for her charity work when she was made a dame for her services to children and older people.
An assisted dying campaigner
Rantzen joined the Swiss assisted dying clinic Dignitas after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 2023, and became a vocal campaigner for the UK’s Terminally Ill Adults Bill.
Rantzen said she had become “too physically fragile” to travel to Dignitas, and said the law around assisted dying – which she called “messy and cruel – must “change and change quickly”.