Celebrity
Dame Esther Rantzen, a television personality, activist, and charity supporter, passed away at the age of 86.
Dame Esther Rantzen has died at the age of 86.
Dame Esther Rantzen, a veteran broadcaster, journalist, campaigner, and person who started a charity, will be missed since she passed away at 86. It said that Rantzen’s family will announce her death in a news statement. They stated that her work of compassion and understanding will leave her legacy alive in the charities she established and the people who “have been lucky enough to love and be loved by her.
There are quite a few other people who praised Rantzen besides PM Andy Burnham. He mentioned that over the decades of Rantzen’s campaigns, she managed to “change countless lives.”
Rantzen initially made her mark as a presenter of That’s Life!, a program for audiences in 1973. That’s Life! became an immediate success, lasted nearly 20 years, and reached a peak in popularity where more than 20 million people would have joined in.
Later in her career, Rantzen hosted a TV show with the BBC called Esther, did a stint on the Strictly Come Dancing show, and in the same year was recognized with an entry into the Royal Television Society’s hall of fame.
Dame Esther Rantzen Fight to the End
In addition to television activities, in 1986 Rantzen founded Childline, a charity that provides a private and confidential helpline for children, followed 27 years later by The Silver Line, which supports older people to tackle feelings of loneliness and isolation.
Later in life, Rantzen, after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 2023, became a vociferous proponent of assisted dying and commented that the UK’s laws on the matter were “messy and cruel” and “must change quickly.” Among those who have expressed condolences there is Kim Leadbeater, MP, who has tried very hard to legalize assisted dying and who said to the media Rantzen was a “strong, warm” man and a “fighter to the end.”
Rantzen’s former boss, ex-BBB One controller Michael Grade, was quoted saying that I’ve lost quite a person, and so has the country of one of those who have been at the cutting edge of broadcasting for a long time.”
Rantzen, a ‘force of nature,’ says former BBC One controller
Michael Grade, former controller of BBC One, who offered Rantzen that same job, now refers to her as a “force of nature.” “I lost a friend. The nation has lost one of the great broadcasting pioneers,” he says to BBC News. “Besides being a brilliant producer, scriptwriter, journalist, and presenter, she was most of all an advocate of the public,” he explains. “He claims one of the reasons was that the public trusted her, partly her ‘amazing ability to communicate.'” “Before joining the BBC,” he says, “he did all that trying.” He even joked about her being “too smart to get the job.” Being the controller of BBC One, he says he and Rantzen “worked well” together and “supported her as much as I could.” In his view, her “most significant contribution” is the launch of Childline: “She was a force of nature,” he says. “She got funding for it, she established the organization, …”
I will always be grateful for what Rantzen taught me, says That’s Life! co-host.
Howard Leader, a former That’s Life! co-host, said he is still grateful for everything Esther Rantzen taught him while they worked together. We’ve always known Esther was unwell. She, however, in a way of hers, kept striving and fighting until the very end, Leader shared with the BBC.
Leader further explained that during his stay with Esther, as a brilliant donor of talent, Esther made him a journalist. “Esther’s my editor to whom all I owe and for which every day brings me a new reason to be thankful,” he said. The leader says his job on That’s Life! was so “challenging” that he had to juggle the “wholesome” segments while, in some cases, serious journalism that could lead to changes in UK laws, was done simultaneously.
Leader added, “I believe Esther had the capability because she genuinely understood the use of the platform for the effect that we hope…the betterment of our country’s people. That is how she saw Esther’s talent. So, Esther to him was more than a co-host; it was like working with someone who would teach a journalist the ropes, be an inspiration for being an editor, and ultimately, be an example to others to follow as well.”
Matt Brittin says Esther Rantzen’s contribution to the BBC and public life is “immeasurable.”
Brittin praised That’s Life! for doing an incredible” job during the 21 years, saying, “Dame Esther Rantzen always showed that her warmth and fight for justice were characteristics of hers, which continued long after the program ended, with a lifetime of campaigning, during which she changed the lives of millions & quot;”
“She will leave a great legacy and be very missed. Let them know that we all wish only good things to her. The ones we think of now are Esther’s children, grandchildren, and family,” he says.
In her role as chief content officer for the BBC, Kate Phillips first entered the industry as a producer of runners on That’s Life! Phillips says, & quot;That was a time of the highest respect towards her as a person, and that is still the case for me today. Esther will be greatly missed, and our thoughts and wishes are with her family and friends at such a difficult time.”
‘Esther is a genuinely incredible person’—Celebrity tributes flood in.
After learning of the passing of Dame Esther Rantzen, singer, actor, and fellow dame Elaine Paige shared her tribute, stating that Rantzen “helped countless children in distress” through the establishment of the charity Childline. Paige said Rantzen was a great broadcaster, journalist & campaigner who “Esther fought to the end for assisted dying, but was unsuccessful.” Paige wrote her tribute on an unnamed platform.
TV host Lorraine Kelly characterized Rantzen as “funny, forthright, and fabulous,” saying that she was “sad news—a pioneer and a force of nature. “Helped so many people.”
The television presenter Anna Williamson, who was inspired to not only become a Childline counsellor but also an ambassador after meeting Rantzen, said that she was a “true fighter,” a “true pioneer,” and a “genuinely incredible person.” Williamson, quoting the legacy of Rantzen, wrote, “Rest in paradise, Dame Esther. Millions of children who have been helped by your vision & passion deserve the utmost reverence.”
Impressionist and comedian Rory Bremner expressed that Rantzen’s show That’s Life! was “revolutionary” in advocating the consumer rights of people—which led him to call her a “campaigner to the very end.” Furthermore, broadcaster Nicky Campbell also commented, ‘Dame Esther Rantzen RIP. There’s hardly any way to describe that difference except by saying a lot.’
