Dame Esther Rantzen has died aged 86 after years of campaigning to implement assisted dying in the UK.
The TV broadcaster was called the ‘most wonderful woman’ by her heartbroken family as they announced her death on Wednesday.
Dame Rantzen, who became a household name fronting That’s Life! from 1973 – 1994, revealed she didn’t have long to live after a lung cancer diagnosis in February.
The campaigner shared that the ‘new miracle drug’ she has been using for her cancer treatment has ‘stopped working’, adding: ‘I’m still here. Not for much longer.’
She continued in The Observer: ‘I’m definitely not going to live long enough to see the assisted dying bill become law.
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‘So if my life becomes unbearably painful and I long for a quick, pain-free death, I will have to go to Dignitas in Switzerland, alone.’
(Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)
The outspoken campaigner was always open about her own health journey inspiring others going through the same traumatic diagnosis.
Dame Esther, described it as a ‘tragic day’ when MPs rejected plans to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adults in England and Wales earlier this month.
Speaking before the vote, she said: ‘Why did I not buzz off to Zurich as I had planned when my life became unbearable?
‘Unfortunately, when I was strong enough to make the flight and go to Dignitas, my life was not unbearably painful, indeed I was able to relax in my beloved cottage in the New Forest.
‘Obviously, I would prefer that my end could be swift and painless and I could ask for help now I’m dying. But I can’t.
‘I knew it would be like this if I died in this country because the current criminal law preventing anyone to help me shorten my death is messy and cruel.’
Dame Esther Rantzen entered the for I’m A Celebritys jungle eighth serieswhere she taking up a maternal role and developed a strong friendship with Timmy Mallett.
She was given DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 2015 for services to children and older people.
She was married to broadcaster Desmond Wilcox and had three children, including broadcaster Rebecca Wilcox.
What are the symptoms of lung cancer
Lung cancer is one of the most common and serious types of cancer. More than 43,000 people are diagnosed with the condition every year in the UK,’ according to the NHS website.
You should see a GP if you have the below symptoms:
- a persistent cough
- coughing up blood
- unexplained tiredness and weight loss
- an ache or pain when breathing or coughing
- persistent breathlessness