Dame Esther Rantzen has been laid to rest in an “incredibly beautiful” funeral, with her family confirming they held a small, private ceremony last week.
The 86-year-old broadcaster, who founded Childline, died at her home in the New Forest on September 30 after being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in 2023. In her final years, she became an outspoken campaigner for assisted dying.
Family confirms private ceremony
Dame Esther’s daughter Rebecca Wilcox said the funeral had been “incredibly beautiful” and that the family had been inundated with sympathy messages since her death. She said: “It’s been hugely comforting to know that people around the world felt the same way about her as we did.”
A larger memorial service for the Childline founder is expected to take place at a later date, with details yet to be announced.
Final note on assisted dying
Dame Esther’s family revealed she left a “goodbye and thank you” note for all those who campaigned on the “crucial life and death issue”. In it, she encouraged campaigners to “battle on”, pledging to “do everything I can from here to help you”.
The former That’s Life! presenter wrote: “It would have transformed the way I died if the law had allowed me to ask for assistance to die when my life had become unbearable. Not because I would have used that choice.” She added: “But because the last days and weeks would have been infused with the hope and confidence of a swift, pain-free death and my family would not have had to witness any suffering or lack of dignity and privacy at the end.”
She noted that she felt “deprived of any choice over my own death by the current messy criminal law” despite receiving support from her local Oakhaven Hospice.
Tribute to campaigners and charities
While she knew the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – introduced in Parliament in 2024 but which failed to become law – would not have come into force in time for her, she added: “Now I am dead I am sorry that there is not much more I can do to speed it on its way for the sake of other future generations”.
Dame Esther confirmed she had become “too physically frail to take the flight” to an assisted dying clinic in Switzerland but thanked “the Dignitas team for everything they did to try and help me”. She added: “A combination of my terminal illness and the cruel law frustrated them and me”.
Her family has asked that anyone wishing to pay tribute make donations in lieu of flowers to Oakhaven Hospice, Childline, The Silver Line and Cats Protection in her name.
