Esther Rantzen admits her time is 'extremely limited' and each day she lives 'comes as extra bonus'

Esther Rantzen has admitted her time alive is “extremely limited” but she still has hopes and dreams like the rest of us. And for , her wishes now extend after her death.

She said: “If there is a heaven, it would be a very happy place. It’s a lovely idea to meet Desmond again and all those I have loved and lost — my parents and grandparents, my close friends and family.”

Esther was diagnosed with in 2023 and has campaigned for assisted dying. At the end of March her beloved daughter Becca Wilcox told how her mother’s life preserving drugs were no longer working.

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Becca told 5 News: “Frankly, Dignitas is out of the window for us as well. You have to be relatively healthy to do that. If she had gone, she would have gone months before she would have died here.”

When asked if her mother was “still improving”, Wilcox said: “I really wish that was true, but I don’t think that’s the case any more.”

Esther’s late husband Desmond died of a heart attack in 2000 at the age of 69. And even though she is has perhaps entering her final months, Esther is still campaigning for law change on assisted dying even though she says it won’t be of use to her now.

She explained: “I know my own future is extremely limited, so now I enjoy each day as it comes as an extra bonus. I am never bored. I even appreciate insomnia in my comfy bed listening to Radio 4 and the World Service. I live in a cottage in the New Forest and am extremely lucky to have a beautiful spring garden to admire. I want the ones I love to have good memories of our life together. Not terrible memories of the way I die."

She added: “I always knew that any change in the assisted dying law could not possibly come in time for me. So the delay — the law in England and Wales could be pushed back until at least 2029 — won’t affect me personally. I am extremely sorry for the sake of other terminally ill patients who will be denied the right to choose. The sooner it is put in place, the more patients will be given that right and the more vulnerable people will be protected from pressure or coercion. At the moment, the law does not protect them at all.”

Esther went on to tell The Times that it was an important campaign. Referring to the Labour MP, she added: “It is a crucial campaign. Kim Leadbeater and her committee and their many witnesses have worked so hard to create the new assisted dying law, which will contain sufficient precautions to protect the vulnerable but will still be accessible enough to enable terminally ill patients to decide if their life becomes unbearable. I owe it to them to support their work in any way I can.”

At the start of 2024 Esther said she had joined Dignitas, an assisted dying clinic in Switzerland, and said she would consider the option if her lung cancer treatment does not improve her condition.

Her daughter, TV presenter Rebecca Wilcox, said she found it "surprising" when her mother revealed she had joined the clinic as she had not been told in advance. She later went on to add she feared she could be prosecuted if she helped her mum.

Veteran broadcaster Esther is best known for presenting That's Life! - a programme featuring a mix of investigations, topical issues and entertainment. She set up children's charity in 1986, which has since become part of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).

Speaking of her proudest achievements in life, Esther said: “Childline has made such a difference to millions of children. So has the Silver Line Helpline for isolated and vulnerable older people. And I’m delighted that people are still moved and inspired by the moment on That’s Life! when we introduced Sir Nicholas Winton to the children he saved from the Holocaust. I consider myself so lucky to have been in the right place at the right time with the right brilliant teams.”

On a lighter note she said she was now “addicted” to quizzes and antique show and her happiest moments were when she made her grandchildren laugh. Showing her trademark humour even about darker subjects, she said: “I did expect that I would fall off my perch some time soon. I am not , sadly, otherwise I’d buy more lottery tickets.”

Those who oppose any change in the current laws have voiced concerns that legalising assisted dying could put pressure on vulnerable people to end their lives for fear of being a burden on others, and argue the disabled, elderly, sick or depressed could be especially at risk.

In April 2024 assisted dying was debated in the commons following Rantzen's campaign. Dr Gordon Macdonald, chief executive of the campaign group Care Not Killing, said at the time: "Instead of discussing this dangerous and ideological policy, we should be talking about how to fix the UK's broken and patchy palliative care system so everyone can have a dignified death."

Care Not Killing argues persistent requests for euthanasia are "extremely rare if people are properly cared for". They say our priority must be to ensure that "good care addressing people's physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs is accessible to all".

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