Esther Rantzen says she is too fragile to travel to Switzerland to end life
Broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen has announced she is too physically fragile to travel to Switzerland for assisted suicide. She is using her situation to urge UK lawmakers to legalize assisted dying in England and Wales.
Why it matters
The case brings renewed public and political attention to the ongoing debate over the legality and ethics of assisted dying in the UK.
Image source, PA Media By Aleks Phillips Published 10 September 2026 Dame Esther Rantzen has said she is now "too physically fragile" to travel to Switzerland to end her life at an assisted suicide clinic.
The veteran broadcaster, 86, said she would have to fly to the country, where the practice is legal, alone, which she could only have done before her life became "unbearable" and before she was ready to end her life.
The Childline founder, who is terminally ill with cancer, first revealed in December 2023 that she had joined the Dignitas clinic.
Dame Esther used her statement on Thursday to reiterate a plea for MPs to vote in favour of legalising assisted dying in England and Wales when proposed legislation is revisited by Parliament on Friday.
She announced she had joined Dignitas about a year after being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.
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