Dame Esther Rantzen has died at the age of 86, it has been announced. She was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in January 2023.
Her children Miriam Wilcox, Rebecca Wilcox and Joshua Wilcox confirmed the sad news in a statement to the Press Association, saying (via BBC News): “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.
“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.”
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Dame Rantzen fronted the show That’s Life! for 21 years, from 1973 to 1994. In 2004, she appeared on the second ever series Strictly Come Dancing, on which she was partnered with Anton Du Beke.
Her other appearances included Excuse My French, First Dates and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
She was also a prominent charity campaigner, having founded both Childline and The Silver Line. In her later years, she campaigned for assisted dying to be legalised in the UK.
“She was the most wonderful mother to us three children and a cherished grandmother to her five treasured grandchildren,” her family’s statement continued. “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.”
The statement adds: “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.
ITV
“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.”
Rantzen was born in June 1940 in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, and got her start as a BBC trainee sound effects assistant at BBC Radio.
She was awarded an OBE for services to broadcasting in 1991 and a CBE for services to children in 2006. In the 2015 New Year Honours, she was made a Dame.
Shaun is an Evening News Editor at Digital Spy, with over a decade of experience reporting on all things pop culture. He has written for outlets including Metro, Attitude, Huffington Post, The Mirror, Yahoo!, Pink News and Express Online, specialising in TV, movies, soaps, music and LGBTQ+ issues. He is also a BAFTA Rocliffe-winning scriptwriter, having written episodes of the soap Hollyoaks, the official Steps musical Here & Now and multiple Offie Award-nominated plays. He studied English Literature and Drama at the University of East Anglia, and will happily talk at length about Desperate Housewives to anyone who’ll listen.