Esther Rantzen
Entertainment
‘I will probably not be given the chance to die in my favourite place’: Esther Rantzen on the right to choose a good death
Born: 22/06/1940
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Died: 30/09/2026
Dame Esther Louise Rantzen (22 June 1940 – 30 September 2026) was an English journalist and television presenter who presented the BBC television series That's Life! for 21 years, from 1973 until 1994. She worked with various charitable causes and founded the charities Childline, a helpline for children, which she set up in 1986, and The Silver Line, designed to combat loneliness in older people's lives, which she set up in November 2012. Rantzen was recognised for her contribution to television and society. She was appointed an OBE for services to broadcasting in 1991 and a CBE for services to children in 2006, and in the 2015 New Year Honours was made a Dame for services to children and older people through Childline and The Silver Line. She was also a patron of a number of charities. She remained as President of Childline until her death in 2026, and her daughter Rebecca Wilcox is Deputy President of Childline and has trained to be a volunteer counsellor there. Rantzen worked closely with the campaigning organisation Dignity in Dying.
14 points.