Dame Esther Rantzen has died aged 86 after years of campaigning to implement assisted dying in the UK.
The TV broadcaster was called the ‘most wonderful woman’ by her heartbroken family as they announced her death on Wednesday.
Dame Rantzen, who became a household name fronting That’s Life! from 1973 – 1994, revealed she didn’t have long to live and was too weak to travel to Dignitas assisted dying clinic in Switzerland.
Her family said: ‘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.
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‘We hope the humour, ingenuity and audacity she brought to her work may continue to inspire you as it will do us.’
The campaigner, diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 2023, shared her ideal death.
She told LBC Radio on Monday (February 19): ‘I’d like to fly off to Zurich with my nearest and dearest. Have a fantastic dinner the night before.
‘I’d love caviar, if possible, and the fact that it doesn’t always agree with me doesn’t matter, does it?
‘I could even have champagne, which I’m deeply allergic to. Then the next day, go to this rather unappealing place where they do it.
‘Listen to a favourite piece of music, say goodbye to everybody. Tell them to cheer up.’
She added: ‘I’m meeting my late husband, my departed dog, and my mother at the pearly gates.’
The outspoken campaigner was always open about her own health journey inspiring others going through the same traumatic diagnosis.
She described it as a ‘tragic day’ when MPs rejected plans to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adults in England and Wales earlier this month.
Dame Esther entered the I’m A Celebrity jungle in 2008 where she took up a strong maternal role in camp and developed a strong friendship with Timmy Mallet.
Rantzen has an ‘extraordinary legacy’, NSPCC chief executive Chris Sherwood said adding she ‘helped millions of children’ by founding Childline – a charity that offers a private and confidential helpline for children.
She was given DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 2015 for services to children and older people.
What are the symptoms of lung cancer
Lung cancer is one of the most common and serious types of cancer. More than 43,000 people are diagnosed with the condition every year in the UK,’ according to the NHS website.
You should see a GP if you have the below symptoms:
- a persistent cough
- an ache or pain when breathing or coughing