Veteran broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen dies aged 86

ByHelen Bushby

Culture reporter

Dame Esther Rantzen, who presented BBC amusement That's Life! for 21 years and launched the foundation Childline, has died astatine the property of 86.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the seasoned broadcaster and campaigner had "changed countless lives".

Dame Esther hosted and produced That's Life! during its tally from 1973 to 1994. It regularly attracted 20 cardinal viewers for its substance of superior user investigations and light-hearted items.

She launched Childline, a British counselling work for children and young people, successful 1986, and successful 2013 she launched Silver Line to assistance aged radical suffering from isolation and loneliness. Later successful life, she became a salient campaigner for the legalisation of assisted dying.

She had been terminally sick with lung cancer. In December 2023, she revealed she had joined Dignitas, the Swiss assisted dying clinic.

But successful a connection fixed to the Press Association earlier this month, she said that contempt having "spent the wealth and made the plans" to spell to Dignitas, she had since reached the constituent wherever she was "too physically fragile to marque the journey".

She added that the instrumentality indispensable "change and alteration quickly", arsenic she renewed her plea up of the latest statement and ballot connected the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which failed to walk done the Commons.

The broadcaster revealed her crab diagnosis successful January 2023, saying the quality had prompted her to explicit "profound acknowledgment to everyone who has made my beingness truthful joyful".

In a connection announcing her decease connected Wednesday, Dame Esther's household paid tribute to the "most fantastic mother" and "cherished grandmother" whose compassion would unrecorded connected done her charities.

"We anticipation the humour, ingenuity and audacity she brought to her enactment whitethorn proceed to animate you arsenic it volition bash us."

Rantzen joined BBC vigor arsenic a dependable effects adjunct earlier becoming a TV researcher, and successful 1968 she trained arsenic a shaper and director.

The young broadcaster became a researcher and newsman for Bernard Braden's user affairs programme, Braden's Week.

When That's Life! launched successful 1973, she was its figurehead and became a fashionable fixture connected screens arsenic the show's formidable and fun-loving presenter and producer.

The user show's notable items, according to her website, external, included "talking dogs, Jobsworth Awards and campaigns connected behalf of abused children, organ transplants, harmless playgrounds, and to supply justness for consumers".

Its most-viewed occurrence featured Sir Nicholas Winton being introduced for the archetypal clip to survivors helium had saved from the Holocaust, during a 1988 instalment of the show.

Later successful her career, she besides appeared connected Strictly Come Dancing, First Dates and I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!

Dame Esther was joined to documentary film-maker Desmond Wilcox from 1977 until helium died successful 2000. They had 3 children.

She was made a dame successful 2015 for her services to children and older people.

Dame Esther went connected to go a vocal campaigner for the legalisation of assisted dying.

In December 2024, she spoke of her "great relief" aft MPs backed proposals to legalise assisted dying successful England and Wales, earlier they yet stalled successful the House of Lords.

In an interrogation with the Sunday Times, external successful November 2025, earlier the measure ran retired of time, she said that "as agelong arsenic others successful the aboriginal volition beryllium capable to inquire for assistance to dice arsenic they choose, I volition dice happy".

She expressed her disappointment aft MPs voted against a caller effort to present the authorities successful September. Some disablement campaigners described the effect arsenic a "victory", portion Dame Esther said it was "deeply bittersweet that it won't travel soon capable for galore of the radical who request it".

"I americium definite a alteration successful the instrumentality volition come," she added.

Figures from politics, broadcasting and the foundation assemblage person paid tribute to Dame Esther for her interaction connected nationalist life.

The premier curate said helium would "always respect the diagnostic courageousness and openness with which she spoke astir her illness, making america each deliberation astir the hard questions we look astatine the extremity of life".

BBC director-general Matt Brittin paid tribute to Dame Esther arsenic a "legend of British broadcasting" whose publication to nationalist beingness was "immeasurable".

"Her warmth, tone and combat for justness and enactment that we saw connected our screens continued agelong aft the programme ended, with a beingness of campaigning wherever she changed the lives of millions," helium said.

Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP who sponsored the assisted dying bill, told the BBC that Dame Esther was a "wonderful premix of spot and feistiness, but besides truly heavy compassion and kindness" - and that she would proceed to animate campaigners.

Chris Sherwood, the main enforcement of the NSPCC, which runs the Childline helpline, said Dame Esther had gone to "exceptional lengths to guarantee children and young radical crossed the UK had determination to crook erstwhile they were successful request of help".

Dame Esther's That's Life! co-presenter Bill Buckley told the BBC's Radio 4 Front Row programme that "nothing would halt her" erstwhile it came to campaigning.

"She saw the airy astatine the extremity of the passageway and followed it doggedly," helium said.