We are so very sad to hear of the death of Dame Esther Rantzen. Esther spent a lifetime standing up for people who needed someone in their corner. Through Childline, The Silver Line, and years of campaigning, she used her voice to make a difference in countless lives.
And in the final years of her own life, she did it again. After her terminal cancer diagnosis, Esther spoke with incredible honesty about her own death, the choices she wanted to have and why she believed other dying people deserved those choices too.
Esther became one of the most recognisable voices calling for a change in the law on assisted dying. After revealing in 2023 that she had joined Dignitas, she spoke openly about what that decision meant for her and her family, and about the possibility of having to travel to Switzerland to have the death she wanted.
She also used her voice to push for political change. She called for MPs to be given a free vote on assisted dying and, in 2024, secured a commitment from Keir Starmer that, if elected Prime Minister, he would make time for a vote in Parliament.
Esther continued to speak out as the Terminally Ill Adults Bill went through Parliament, sharing her own experience and urging MPs to give dying people greater choice. Her voice helped take a subject that can be incredibly difficult to talk about and bring it into homes across the country.
She didn’t have to share something so personal. But by doing so, she helped millions of people understand why this issue matters.
Esther’s daughter Rebecca Wilcox, who campaigned alongside her for a change in the law on assisted dying, paid a simple and moving tribute to her mum after her death, describing her as “our irreplaceable everything”.
Rebecca and her siblings Miriam and Joshua also spoke of their mother’s “endless capacity for joy” and said that her campaigning for children, older people and terminally ill people “meant the world to her”.
We will always be grateful to Esther for standing alongside us and for everything she gave to this campaign, right up until the end.
Thank you, Esther.
For further comment or information, media should contact Kerry Hogan at kerry.hogan@mydeath-mydecision.org.uk or phone 07922363248. (media only)
Media can use the following press images and videos, as long as they are attributed to “My Death, My Decision”.
My Death, My Decision is a grassroots campaign group that wants the law in England and Wales to allow mentally competent adults who are terminally ill or intolerably suffering from an incurable condition the option of a legal, safe, and compassionate assisted death. With the support of over 3,000 members and supporters, we advocate for an evidence-based law that would balance individual choice alongside robust safeguards and finally give the people of England and Wales choice at the end of their lives.
