From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv



Veteran broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen dies aged 86
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Dame Esther Rantzen, who presented BBC show That's Life! for
21 years and launched the charity Childline, has died at the
age of 86.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the veteran broadcaster and
campaigner had "changed countless lives".

Dame Esther hosted and produced That's Life! during its run
from 1973 to 1994. It regularly attracted 20 million viewers
for its mixture of serious consumer investigations and
light-hearted items.

She launched Childline, a British counselling service for
children and young people, in 1986, and in 2013 she launched
Silver Line to help elderly people suffering from isolation
and loneliness. Later in life, she became a prominent
campaigner for the legalisation of assisted dying.

She had been terminally ill with lung cancer. In December 2023,
she revealed she had joined Dignitas, the Swiss assisted dying
clinic.

But in a statement given to the Press Association earlier this
month, she said that despite having "spent the money and made
the plans" to go to Dignitas, she had since reached the point
where she was "too physically fragile to make the journey".

She added that the law must "change and change quickly", as she
renewed her plea ahead of the latest debate and vote on the
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which failed to pass
through the Commons.

The broadcaster revealed her cancer diagnosis in January 2023,
saying the news had prompted her to express "profound thanks to
everyone who has made my life so joyful".

In a statement announcing her death on Wednesday, Dame Esther's
family paid tribute to the "most wonderful mother" and
"cherished grandmother" whose compassion would live on through
her charities.

"We hope the humour, ingenuity and audacity she brought to her
work may continue to inspire you as it will do us."


Long BBC News obituary article continues at <https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g4z255y30o>


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