Dame Esther Rantzen dead at 86 as tributes paid to ‘wonderful mother’ and Childline founder

Broadcaster and campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen has passed away at the age of 86.

The veteran presenter, renowned for fronting programmes such as That’s Life! founded charities dedicated to supporting both the young and elderly, and in her later years became a leading voice in the campaign to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales.

Dame Esther was “the most wonderful mother”, a “cherished grandmother”, and someone who will be remembered for “her endless capacity for joy”, her family said in a statement paying tribute.

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She passed away surrounded by her family at her home in the New Forest, a spokesperson confirmed.

Dame Esther fronted the BBC consumer affairs programme That’s Life! for 21 years from 1973 to 1994, which led to her founding Childline in 1986, to provide counselling services for young people.

She subsequently launched The Silver Line in 2012, which aims to combat loneliness amongst older people.

In her later years, Dame Esther became a passionate advocate for assisted dying, following her diagnosis with stage four lung cancer in 2023.

She openly discussed her intention to “buzz off to Zurich” to have an assisted death at Dignitas and condemned the “messy and cruel” law in England and Wales which would criminalise loved ones who attempted to help.

However, in September 2026, ahead of a vote by MPs which would see efforts to legalise assisted dying defeated in Parliament, Dame Esther revealed that it was now too late for her to travel, as she had become “too physically fragile to make the journey”. She spoke of her anguish at loved ones witnessing her “suffering pain or indignity” while receiving end-of-life care, and expressed deep sadness when the assisted dying Bill was defeated – describing it as a “tragic day”.

Dame Esther first rose to fame presenting That’s Life, the magazine programme she helped create, which featured consumer affairs reports frequently combined with satire.

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The show was a ratings sensation and became one of the most-watched programmes on British television, broadening the traditional scope of the consumer programme to tackle life-and-death issues, such as a boarding school harbouring paedophiles and a shortage of organ donors.

She established Childline, a helpline for children in danger or distress, after a temporary helpline set up for viewers affected by a programme about a toddler who had starved to death was overwhelmed with callers.

The calls predominantly came from children suffering sexual abuse they had never previously been able to disclose to anyone, giving Dame Esther Rantzen the inspiration for a dedicated helpline for children, open 24/7 throughout the year.

In a statement, her children Miriam, Rebecca and Joshua Wilcox 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.

“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.

“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.”