Broadcaster Esther Rantzen, founder of Childline, dies aged 86

British television presenter and campaigner Esther Rantzen has died at the age of 86, her family announced.

Rantzen was best known for presenting the BBC programme That’s Life!, which made her a regular presence in homes throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In 1986 she founded the Childline charity, providing a helpline for children in need.

In a statement, her children Miriam Wilcox, Rebecca Wilcox and Joshua Wilcox described their mother as “the most wonderful mother” and “cherished grandmother”, praising her “endless capacity for joy” and her work for children, older people and the terminally ill.

The family added that Rantzen is now at rest with her late husband, Desmond Wilcox, and asked for privacy while they grieve.

Chris Sherwood, head of the NSPCC which runs Childline, said Rantzen was “a unique and truly remarkable woman” whose founding of the service in 1986 has helped millions of children over the past four decades.

Source: Irish Examiner. Photo: Nic Wood / Pexels.