Childline director and prime minister pay tribute to Esther Rantzen

Dame Esther Rantzen, who presented the BBC’s That’s Life! and founded the children’s helpline Childline, has died aged 86, BBC News reports. [1]

That’s Life! launched in May 1973 and ran until June 1994. Rantzen established Childline in 1986 so that children experiencing abuse or neglect could call in confidence. It had 12 centres across the UK when it merged with the NSPCC in 2006. [1]

She later set up The Silver Line, a round-the-clock telephone service offering advice, information and support to lonely older people. [1]

Rantzen spoke publicly about her stage-four lung cancer in 2023. Her daughter said in March 2025 that a treatment which had kept her alive was no longer working. Rantzen also campaigned for the legalisation of assisted dying, saying she might travel to Zurich if her treatment failed. [1]

Update

Childline director Shaun Friel told BBC Breakfast that Dame Esther Rantzen had been “quite a force” as a campaigner. “She inspired people, she energised people, she persuaded people,” he said. Rantzen founded the children’s helpline in 1986; it merged with the NSPCC in 2006. [2]

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Rantzen had “changed countless lives” and praised the courage with which she spoke about her illness. BBC director general Matt Brittin called her a “legend of British broadcasting”, while NSPCC chief executive Chris Sherwood praised her work to ensure children had somewhere to seek help. [2]