Dame Esther Rantzen got her first on-screen TV appearance on BBC consumer programme Braden's Week, fronted by Canadian presenter Bernard Braden, which she joined as researcher in 1968.

After Braden departed the BBC in 1972, the show was rebooted a year later, renamed That's Life! and Rantzen was selected as its main presenter.

Launched in May 1973, it became an almost instant hit.

Recorded just before transmission on Saturday nights, it was initially a consumer protection programme investigating viewers' complaints about shoddy service and faulty goods.

Over the years it grew to include more quirky items.

It initiated the Jobsworth award for over-zealous bureaucrats and council officials, and Heap of the Week, in which failing domestic appliances would be destroyed on screen in a variety of ingenious ways.

The most memorable moment came in 1988, when Rantzen told the story of Nicholas Winton, the man who had organised the rescue of 669 children from Czechoslovakia, which was occupied in 1939 by Nazi forces.

A broadcaster

Dame Esther Rantzen presented the BBC show That's Life! for 21 years during its run from 1973 to 1994, a show that blended consumer rights investigations and entertainment.

She later went on to appear in Strictly Come Dancing, and was inducted into the Royal Television Society's hall of fame in 1997.

A charity founder

It was through her work on That's Life! that Rantzen founded Childline in 1986, a charity that offers a private and confidential helpline for children.

When they set up a helpline for an episode of the BBC television programme on child abuse, the presenter's team was inundated with calls.

Afterwards, Rantzen realised there was an urgent need for an outlet for vulnerable children to talk about the taboo subject of child abuse.

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Later on in 2013, Rantzen set up another telephone service. The Silver Line helpline provided a line for people aged 55 or older to tackle feelings of loneliness and isolation that many older people experience.

In 2015, Rantzen was recognised for her charity work when she was made a dame for her services to children and older people.

An assisted dying campaigner

Rantzen joined the Swiss assisted dying clinic Dignitas after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 2023, and became a vocal campaigner for the UK's Terminally Ill Adults Bill.

Rantzen said she had become "too physically fragile" to travel to Dignitas, and said the law around assisted dying - which she called "messy and cruel - must "change and change quickly".

In a statement issued to the Press Association her children Miriam Wilcox, Rebecca Wilcox and Joshua Wilcox said:

"Our adored mother, Dame Esther Rantzen, died today. Her legacy of compassion and understanding will live on in her charities Childline and the Silverline, and through those of us who were lucky enough to love and be loved by her.

"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.

"Mum’s work with charities and campaigning, particularly for children, older people, and the terminally ill, meant the world to her so thank you to everyone who has written to her, shared their stories with her over the years and worked alongside her.

"We hope the humour, ingenuity and audacity she brought to her work may continue to inspire you as it will do us. We kindly ask that we are given privacy and time to grieve."

In a statement, the family of Esther Rantzen have paid tribute to the “most wonderful mother” and “cherished grandmother” who will be remembered for her “endless capacity for joy”.

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Image source, Getty Images

Dame Esther Rantzen, the veteran broadcaster and Childline founder, has died aged 86.

Rantzen presented programme That’s Life! for 21 years while at the BBC, and also appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, First Dates and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!

After being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in January 2023, Rantzen went on to become a prominent campaigner in support of assisted dying.