Dame Esther Rantzen dies aged 86

Dame Esther Rantzen, who presented BBC show That's Life! for 21 years and launched the Childline charity, has died at the age of 86.

Tributes have poured in, with Prime Minister Andy Burnham saying she "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.

She had been terminally ill with lung cancer. In December 2023, she revealed she had joined Dignitas, the Swiss assisted dying clinic.

But in a statement given to the Press Association in September 2026, she said that despite having "spent the money and made the plans" to go to Dignitas, she had since reached the point where she was "too physically fragile to make the journey".

The prominent campaigner for the legalisation of assisted dying added that the law must "change and change quickly", as she renewed her plea ahead of the latest debate and vote on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

The broadcaster revealed her cancer diagnosis in January 2023, saying the news had prompted her to express "profound thanks to everyone who has made my life so joyful".

Rantzen joined BBC radio as a sound effects assistant before becoming a TV researcher, and in 1968 she trained as a producer and director.

The young broadcaster became a researcher and reporter for Bernard Braden's consumer affairs programme, Braden's Week.

When That's Life! launched in 1973, she was its figurehead and became a popular fixture on screens as the show's formidable and fun-loving presenter and producer.

The consumer show's notable items, according to her website, included "talking dogs, Jobsworth Awards and campaigns on behalf of abused children, organ transplants, safe playgrounds, and to provide justice for consumers".

Its most-viewed episode featured Sir Nicholas Winton being introduced for the first time to survivors he had saved from the Holocaust, during a 1988 instalment of the show.

Later in her career, she also appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, First Dates and I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!

Dame Esther was married to documentary film-maker Desmond Wilcox from 1977 until he died in 2000. They had three children.

She was made a dame in 2015 for her services to children and older people.

In December 2024, Dame Esther spoke of her "great relief" after MPs backed proposals to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales.

In an interview with the Sunday Times in late November 2025, she said her "great hope for 2026" was the potential passing of the assisted dying bill, saying "as long as others in the future will be able to ask for help to die as they choose, I will die happy".

The latest debate and vote on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill took place on 11 September, when MPs voted against proposals to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, bringing the latest effort to change the law to an end.

Following a debate in which both sides made emotional speeches, the House of Commons voted 286 to 270 - a majority of 16 - against the proposed legislation.

Disability campaigners described the result as a "victory". Dame Esther told the BBC of her "disappointment" with the outcome, saying: "I am sure a change in the law will come. I am deeply sad that it won't come soon enough for many of the people who need it, it's a tragic day."

Figures from politics, broadcasting and charities have paid tribute to Dame Esther for her impact on public life, from speaking up for the vulnerable to campaigning for assisted dying.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said she "changed countless lives" and that he would "always admire the characteristic courage and openness with which she spoke about her illness, making us all think about the difficult questions we face at the end of life".

Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP who sponsored the assisted dying bill, said Dame Esther was a "wonderful mix of strength and feistiness but also really deep compassion and kindness".

Leadbeater told the BBC that Dame Esther's legacy would live on in the fight for assisted dying saying "certainly it's an issue that's not going away and Esther will continue to inspire myself and I'm sure other campaigners on this and many other issues".

Chris Sherwood, the chief executive of the NSPCC which runs the Childline helpline, said Dame Esther had left an "extraordinary legacy", saying she went to "exceptional lengths to ensure children and young people across the UK had somewhere to turn when they were in need of help".