Dame Esther Rantzen has died at the age of 86, and tributes have poured in from across British television and politics, praising her decades of campaigning for children, older people and assisted dying.
That’s Life! ran for 21 years, and Rantzen founded Childline, the children’s helpline launched in 1986 following her coverage of child abuse and neglect on the BBC consumer show she presented. She went on to found The Silver Line in 2013, a service aimed at helping older people struggling with isolation and loneliness.
Lung cancer left her with a terminal diagnosis. She admitted to joining Dignitas, the Swiss assisted dying clinic, in 2023. But then she changed course last month, saying she was now “too physically fragile to make the journey.”
Campaigning for children
The director of Childline, Shaun Friel, described Rantzen as someone who was “quite a force” as a campaigner, referring to her as “an inspirational individual”.
“She inspired people, she energised people, she persuaded people,” Friel told BBC Breakfast. “She had a great mind and she had obviously that natural journalistic ability.”
Rantzen changed how society viewed children, according to Friel, and the legacy of Childline was “something quite incredible”.
The NSPCC’s chief executive, Chris Sherwood, said that Rantzen had gone to “exceptional lengths to ensure children and young people across the UK had somewhere to turn when they were in need of help.”
The helpline merged with the NSPCC in 2006.
Prime Minister’s tribute
Andy Burnham, who serves as Prime Minister, offered a tribute to Rantzen, remarking that she had “changed countless lives”.
“Burnham said 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’,” the report states.
The Labour MP who introduced the assisted dying legislation, Kim Leadbeater, spoke to the BBC about Rantzen, describing her as a “wonderful mix of strength and feistiness, but also really deep compassion and kindness”.
Broadcaster’s legend
Matt Brittin, the director general of BBC, described Rantzen as a “legend of British broadcasting” who made a “immeasurable” contribution to public life.
“Her warmth, spirit and fight for justice and action that we saw on our screens continued long after the programme ended, with a lifetime of campaigning where she changed the lives of millions,” he said.
Martin Lewis, who broadcasts alongside her, described Rantzen as an “inspiration” and a “pioneer”, saying her “impact and memory will long continue to shine”.
Friends remember her
On Thursday, Baroness Jan Royall, who served as leader of the House of Lords and counts Rantzen among her friends, appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, where she described herself as a “formidable” person.
“She was an extraordinary, compassionate woman, a passionate woman, and she brought about such change in our world, change for the better,” Royall said.
Rantzen had “a wicked sense of humour” and a “zest for life”, according to Royall, which is what pushed her to work on improving people’s lives through Silver Line, Childline and the assisted dying bill.
Rantzen’s That’s Life! co-presenter Bill Buckley told the BBC’s Radio 4 Front Row programme that “nothing would stop her” when it came to campaigning.
He said “She saw the light at the end of the tunnel and followed it doggedly,”.
Dame Elaine Paige, known for her roles in West End productions like Cats and Evita, paid tribute to a “great broadcaster, journalist and campaigner”.
“She said: ‘Her Childline, the confidential counselling service for young people in distress, helped so many children and The Silver Line was aimed at older people suffering loneliness and isolation.'”
The Strictly Come Dancing partner of Rantzen, Anton Du Beke, posted an image of the two dancing together from the 2004 series, saying they had kept up the habit “remained firm friends” ever since.
He praised her “breadth of knowledge and passion” and called her “the ultimate breaker of the glass ceiling”, adding: “She will be greatly missed and my sincere thoughts are with her family.”
On Instagram, Davina McCall posted that Rantzen had “made the world a better place, and inspired so many of us to do better and live life to its fullest.”.
A video of the former Big Brother host discussing how Rantzen was an “inspiration to girls like me when we were growing up” came with a message.
Presenter Amol Rajan said Rantzen “changed the course of millions of lives” as he paid tribute, calling her “an inspirational, strong woman ahead of her time”.
“Not bad for a bright, Hertfordshire girl born during the early stages of the Second World War.”
What she left behind
For many years, Rantzen worked in television, yet it was her campaigning efforts that drew most of the attention and earned her the bulk of the acclaim.
- Childline, founded in 1986 after she featured cases of child abuse and neglect on That’s Life!
- The Silver Line, founded in 2013 to help older people suffering from isolation and loneliness
- Assisted dying campaigns later in life, after joining Dignitas in 2023
- Other campaigns on safety, organ donation and bullying
A half-hour special programme entitled Esther! has appeared on iPlayer from the BBC. Viewers can also catch it on Friday, 2 October, when it airs on BBC One at 19:30 BST.
Television presenters, politicians and campaigners have all paid tribute to Rantzen since her death.
Source material: “Tributes paid to 'inspirational' presenter and campaigner Esther Rantzen,” the BBC.
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