Esther Rantzen said she could no longer travel to Switzerland to commit suicide because she had become “too physically fragile.”
Rantzen, who presented the current events television program “That’s Life!” for 21 years and founded the youth support charity Childline, intended to take her own life at the Dignitas end-of-life clinic in Switzerland after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 2023.
The 86-year-old TV presenter said in a statement on Thursday that her quality of life had deteriorated since her diagnosis and that she was prepared to take her own life but could no longer travel, despite joining Dignitas about a year after learning she was terminally ill.
Rantzen said: “Unfortunately, when I was strong enough to take the flight and transfer to Dignitas, my life was not unbearably painful, in fact I was able to relax in my favorite cottage in the New Forest.
“And by the time life really became unbearable, I was too physically weak to make the journey and go through the Dignitas process.
“So although I had spent money and made plans, I wasn’t ready to take my own life at the time and didn’t realize it would be my last chance.”
Assisted dying remains illegal in the UK, although legislation allowing it in certain circumstances is being reviewed.
Rantzen is a strong supporter of the bill, which is due to undergo a second reading in parliament on Friday, and criticized current laws that prevent people in her situation from legally ending their lives, calling the rules “dirty and cruel.”
Legalizing euthanasia in the UK has been the subject of intense debate since Kim Leadbeater’s Bill was introduced into Parliament in October 2024.
In a House of Commons vote in June 2025, the bill passed 314 to 291, with both sides receiving votes from Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs.
If the bill passes, the UK will join European countries such as Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, as well as Australia, Canada and the US, where it is legal in 13 states.
Supporters of the bill say it will allow terminally ill people to enjoy a dignified end to their lives and allow them to die before their health deteriorates too much.
However, opponents of this law argue that the criteria put forward may change after the law is passed and that the quality of palliative care may deteriorate.