Dame Esther Rantzen’s daughter has revealed that her mum “doesn’t want to talk about dying” during a heartfelt discussion about the presenter’s health.
In an interview with Cally Beaton on the Namaste Motherf*****s podcast this month (September 12th), the beloved TV presenter’s daughter, Rebecca Wilcox, detailed how “amazingly proud” she was of her mum.
In 2023, the ChildLine founder announced that she had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and had joined Dignitas, an assisted dying organisation in Switzerland.
However, in the interview, Rebecca offered insight into her mum’s health battle and explained why she “just wants to live what she is living well”.
Rebecca said: “I’m just, without sounding sentimental and boastful, I am always amazingly proud of her and the fact that she doesn’t want to talk about dying.”
She continued: “She doesn’t want to talk about the cancer. She just wants to live what she is living well. What time any of us have left, we don’t want to talk about.
“One of the dinner party banned conversations…it used to be you’re not allowed to talk about Brexit or health. And so now she’s having to have this conversation day in, day out, probably with the knowledge that it’s not going to help her at all.”
The former That’s Life! host has been lobbying the Government to hold a full debate and free vote on assisted dying in the UK, as current laws mean that people enabling it can receive a jail term of 14 years.
It also means that if Dame Esther’s three children, Rebecca, Miriam and Joshua, accompanied her to the Dignitas clinic in Zurich, they would risk prosecution as accessories.
Dame Esther received fresh hope this month that she will live to witness a Commons debate on the issue after Sir Keir Starmerrenewed his pledge to allow time for one.
However, the Prime Minister wouldn’t reveal a timeline when asked if he could reassure the veteran journalist that it would occur before Christmas this year.
He said: “I gave her my word that we would make time for this with a Private Members’ Bill and I repeat that commitment. I made it to her personally and I meant it, and we will.”
Dame Esther dubbed the latest comments “wonderful news” and said she was “so grateful”, revealing that the PM “hoped I would be alive” to hear a “proper debate”.
She said: “At the time I thought that was an impossible dream, but thanks to a new targeted drug which seems to have stopped the spread of my lung cancer, and thanks to Sir Keir’s commitment and the support of so many people around me, it may come true.
“Thank you, Sir Keir, on behalf of all the people who, like me, would like to be able to look forward to a pain-free death with dignity, surrounded by the people we love.”
You can learn more about the Dignity in Dying campaign here.
