Broadcaster and campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen dies

Dame Esther Rantzen has died at the age of 86, her family has said in a statement.

The former journalist and TV presenter died surrounded by family at her home in the New Forest, a spokesperson confirmed.

She became known for hosting shows such as That's Life!, establishing charities to help the young and old, and in recent years, becoming a prominent voice in the attempt to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales.

Dame Esther was "the most wonderful mother", a "cherished grandmother", and someone who will be remembered for "her endless capacity for joy", her family said in a statement paying tribute.

Dame Esther hosted BBC consumer affairs show That's Life! for 21 years from 1973 to 1994, which led to her setting up Childline in 1986, to provide counselling services for young people.

She later launched The Silver Line in 2012, which aims to tackle loneliness in older people.

In later life, Dame Esther became a strong proponent for assisted dying, after she was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in 2023, talking openly about doing it and condemning the "messy and cruel" law in England and Wales which would criminalise loved ones who tried to help.

But in September 2026, ahead of a vote by MPs which would see efforts to legalise assisted dying defeated in Parliament, she shared that it was now too late for her to travel [to Dignitas in Switzerland], as she had become "too physically fragile to make the journey".

When the assisted dying Bill fell, she called it a "tragic day".

She became known to TV audiences as the host of the BBC's long-running That's Life!, a consumer affairs magazine show with an often satirical edge that she helped create.

It became one of the most popular programmes on British television, expanding the traditional role of the consumer programme to investigating life-and-death issues, such as a boarding school employing paedophiles and a nationwide shortage of organ donors.

In the mid-1980s, she founded Childline, a helpline for children in danger or distress, after a temporary helpline open for viewers impacted by a programme about a toddler who had starved to death was swamped with callers.

The calls mainly came from children suffering sexual abuse they had never been able to disclose to anyone else, giving Dame Esther the idea for a specific helpline for children, open 24/7 throughout the year.

In a statement, her children Miriam, Rebecca and Joshua Wilcox 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.

"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 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."

Many of those who knew and worked with her have paid tribute, with Prime Minister Andy Burnham saying she "changed countless lives and gave a voice to people who often went unheard".

NSPCC chief executive Chris Sherwood said she left an "extraordinary legacy" having "helped millions of children" by founding Childline.

TV host Lorraine Kelly, writing on Instagram, called her "funny, forthright and fabulous", adding Dame Esther "helped so many people".

Singer and actress Dame Elaine Paige posted a picture of the pair together on Instagram, calling her "a great broadcaster, journalist and campaigner".

The campaign group Dignity in Dying called Dame Esther "a true force of nature whose compassion, tenacity and wit will be greatly missed".

Age UK chief executive Paul Farmer said that through the Silver Line, she "helped to support thousands of lonely older people, making sure they have someone to talk to whenever they might need it".

Comedian Rory Bremner said on X that That's Life! was "groundbreaking" and Dame Esther "a truly unique and powerful broadcaster".

Labour MP Kim Leadbeater - who led an attempt to legalise assisted dying - called Dame Esther "a strong, warm and compassionate woman and a fighter to the end".

The Board of Deputies of British Jews described her as a "Jewish national treasure", recalling a moment when she "reunited the kindertransport hero Sir Nicholas Winton with the Holocaust refugees he rescued" on a TV programme.

(c) Sky News 2026: Broadcaster and campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen dies