Veteran broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen dies aged 86
Summary
Dame Esther Rantzen, a well-known British TV presenter and charity founder, has died at 86. She was famous for hosting the BBC show That's Life! and for starting the Childline charity for children and the Silver Line for elderly people. She had lung cancer and campaigned for laws to allow assisted dying.Key Facts
- Dame Esther Rantzen hosted the BBC show That's Life! from 1973 to 1994, reaching up to 20 million viewers.
- She founded Childline in 1986, a counseling service for children and young people.
- In 2013, she launched Silver Line to support elderly people experiencing loneliness.
- Dame Esther revealed in 2023 that she had lung cancer and planned to use Dignitas, a Swiss assisted dying clinic.
- She said she became too fragile to travel to Dignitas and called for legal changes to allow assisted dying in the UK.
- Daughter of a TV producer, she worked her way up from sound effects assistant to producer and presenter.
- She was made a dame in 2015 for her services to children and older people.
- She was known for mixing serious investigations with lighter stories on That's Life!, including famous moments like reuniting Holocaust survivors.
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