Veteran broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen dies aged 86
Veteran British broadcaster and campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen has died at age 86. Known for her work on 'That's Life!' and founding the charity Childline, she was also a prominent advocate for assisted dying legislation.
Why it matters
Rantzen's legacy spans decades of public service, media influence, and significant contributions to social policy and end-of-life care debates.
Figure caption, Watch: Dame Esther Rantzen, broadcaster, campaigner and charity founder, dies aged 86
Dame Esther Rantzen, who presented BBC show That's Life! for 21 years and launched the charity Childline, has died at the age of 86.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the veteran broadcaster and campaigner had "changed countless lives".
Dame Esther hosted and produced That's Life! during its run from 1973 to 1994. It regularly attracted 20 million viewers for its mixture of serious consumer investigations and light-hearted items.
She launched Childline, a British counselling service for children and young people, in 1986, and in 2013 she launched Silver Line to help elderly people suffering from isolation and loneliness. Later in life, she became a prominent campaigner for the legalisation of assisted dying.
She had been terminally ill with lung cancer. In December 2023, she revealed she had joined Dignitas, the Swiss assisted dying clinic.
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