Dame Esther Rantzen, Broadcaster and Childline Founder, Dies at 86

Dame Esther Rantzen, the broadcaster, campaigner, and charity founder, has died at the age of 86. Born Esther Louise Rantzen in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, on 22 June 1940, she was the daughter of Henry, a BBC broadcast engineer, and had Polish Jewish ancestry. After studying English at Somerville College, Oxford, she joined the BBC as a trainee studio manager before moving into television as a researcher on the satirical show BBC3. In 1973, she became the main presenter of That's Life!, a consumer affairs programme that ran for 21 years and became known for its high-profile campaigns, including those against child abuse. The show's 1986 campaign led to the creation of Childline, a national helpline for children suffering abuse or neglect, which merged with the NSPCC in 2006. Rantzen also devised and presented Hearts of Gold and her own talk show Esther, which ran for 600 episodes. Following the death of her husband Desmond Wilcox in 2000, she campaigned on loneliness among older people and set up The Silver Line helpline. She was appointed OBE in 1991, CBE in 2006, and made a Dame Commander in the 2015 New Year Honours. In 2023, she revealed a stage-four lung cancer diagnosis and became a vocal advocate for the legalisation of assisted dying. She is survived by her children and five grandchildren.