Dame Esther Rantzen has spoken with deep emotion about the limited time she has left as she continues her battle with stage four lung cancer. The beloved broadcaster and founder of Childline, 83, has now confirmed that she joined Dignitas – the Swiss assisted dying organisation – in late 2023.
At one point, doctors warned she might not survive to see Christmas.
In a moving interview with The Times, Dame Esther shared the wish that now keeps her going — to be reunited with her late husband, Desmond Wilcox, who passed away in 2000.
“If there is a heaven, it would be a very happy place,” she said. “It’s a lovely idea to meet Desmond again, and all those I’ve loved and lost.”
She added, “I want the ones I love to remember the life we shared — not the way I died.”
Her connection to Desmond remains powerful even decades later. In 2013, she recalled his final words: “I adore you.” She had been sitting by his deathbed. “I will take those words with me to the grave.”
Only days ago, she told her son, “If God gave me the choice between ten more years of life or ten more minutes with Desi, I’d take the minutes.”
This heartbreaking reflection comes as her daughter, Rebecca Wilcox, confirmed that the cancer drug which had previously slowed the disease has now stopped working.
“We were so thankful for the extra time,” Rebecca said. “But now, that time is running short.”
Dame Esther and Desmond were together for over three decades. Their love, she says, is still the deepest part of her — and will be until the very end.
“I want to leave this life with love — not pain,” she said.
