Esther Rantzen, TV presenter and Childline founder, dies aged 86
The Bafta-winning broadcaster founded Childline and the Silverline, and became a prominent campaigner for assisted dying after her lung cancer diagnosis in 2023.
Esther Rantzen, the Bafta-winning television presenter who founded the children's helpline Childline, has died at the age of 86. Her family announced her death in a statement, describing her as «the most wonderful mother» and a «cherished grandmother».
The family said 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». Rantzen had announced her lung cancer diagnosis in 2023 and subsequently became a vocal campaigner for a change in the law on assisted dying.
She was best known for presenting the long-running BBC consumer affairs programme That's Life!, which combined investigations into everyday frauds and injustices with a distinctive mix of humour and public service journalism. The programme ran for more than two decades and made her one of the most recognisable broadcasters in Britain.
In 1986, she founded Childline, a free and confidential counselling service for children and young people. The charity, initially run from her own home, grew into a national institution and has since helped millions of young people. She later established the Silverline, a helpline offering friendship and support to older people facing loneliness.
Her campaigning extended beyond broadcasting and charity work. After her diagnosis, she spoke publicly about the need for assisted dying to be legalised in the UK, arguing that terminally ill people should be given choice and dignity at the end of their lives. Her interventions kept the issue in the public debate and drew support from across the political spectrum.
Tributes from the broadcasting and charity sectors are expected to follow. Rantzen's career spanned more than five decades, during which she combined entertainment with a sustained focus on social welfare and consumer protection. She was made a dame in recognition of her services to broadcasting and to children.
She is survived by her family, who said her charitable work and the affection in which she was held would ensure her memory endures. The statement from her family emphasised the personal loss alongside her public legacy, describing her as a mother and grandmother first.
Childline and the Silverline remain central to her legacy. Both organisations were founded on the principle that people in distress should have somewhere to turn, and both have become embedded in the UK's support landscape for children and older people respectively.
Rantzen's death closes a chapter in British broadcasting that linked mass-audience television with practical social reform. Her work on That's Life! demonstrated how a popular programme could pursue consumer and welfare issues, while her later charity and campaigning efforts showed a continuing commitment to public causes.
3
