Dame Esther Rantzen dies aged 86; family pay tribute

# What happened Broadcaster and campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen has died at the age of 86, her family announced. They paid tribute to her personal warmth and to the charities she founded, and asked for privacy as they grieve.

# Why she was notable Dame Esther was a prominent BBC presenter and the face of That's Life!, a consumer affairs magazine show she helped devise and hosted for more than two decades. The show mixed consumer reporting and satire and tackled serious issues including abuse and shortages of organ donors.

She founded Childline in 1986 after a viewer-response helpline was swamped with children disclosing abuse. Childline became a 24/7 counselling helpline for children in danger or distress. Later she launched The Silver Line, a helpline dedicated to older people facing loneliness.

She was made a Dame for services to children and older people.

# Personal background and public campaigning Dame Esther studied English at Somerville College, Oxford, and performed with the Oxford University Dramatic Society. She joined the BBC shortly after graduation.

Following a 2023 diagnosis of stage four lung cancer, she became a public proponent of assisted dying. She said she intended to travel to Dignitas in Switzerland but later stated she had become too physically fragile to make the journey. Ahead of a parliamentary vote that would defeat an assisted dying bill, she called the result "tragic" and expressed anguish at loved ones seeing her suffer while receiving end-of-life care.

# Family statement Her family released a statement describing her as "our adored mother" and saying 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."

They added: "We are grateful she is finally at rest with her beloved husband, Desmond Wilcox, but we will miss her immeasurably. She was our sunshine."

The statement noted her skills with words, her humour and ingenuity, and said she was a "most wonderful mother" to their three children and a "cherished grandmother" to five grandchildren. The family asked for privacy and time to grieve.

# What she leaves behind Her public legacy includes long-running television work and two charities: Childline, the 24/7 helpline for children, and The Silver Line, a helpline for older people. Her campaigning included consumer protection work on television and advocacy on assisted dying in later life.

# Immediate reactions and context News outlets and public figures paid tribute in the days following the announcement. Coverage noted her broadcasting career, charity work, and late-life campaigning. Several publications also reported the family statement and her public comments about assisted dying.

# What to watch next