BROADCASTER DAME ESTHER RANTZEN DIES AGED 86

Dame Esther Rantzen, the Bafta-winning broadcaster and campaigner, died on Wednesday at the age of 86, her family said. In a farewell letter released after her death, she thanked fans for their support, saying she hoped to "see you eventually, on the other side". Her family described her as the "most wonderful mother" and a "cherished grandmother", saying she would be remembered for her "endless capacity for joy". They said her legacy of compassion and understanding would live on through her charities and through those who loved her.

Dame Esther was best known for presenting the BBC series That's Life!, a long-running consumer and current affairs programme. One of the programme's most significant moments came when she told the story of a British man credited with saving hundreds of children from the Nazis, a moment later described as one of television's finest. She founded the charity Childline, which her family said has helped millions of children, and the Silverline, a helpline for older people. In recent years, she became a prominent voice campaigning for the legalisation of assisted dying.

Esther Louise Rantzen was born on 22 June 1940 in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. Her father, BBC electrical engineer Henry Barnato Rantzen, sent his wife Katherine there to escape bombing raids on London during the Second World War. She and her younger sister, Scilla, spent their earliest years living on rations before their father took a job with the United Nations in New York. Esther then went to school in Roslyn, Long Island. Her family said they were grateful she was "finally at rest" with her husband, Desmond Wilcox, adding that they would miss her "immeasurably" and remember her as "our sunshine".