Dame Esther Rantzen, the broadcaster and campaigner who founded Childline, has died aged 86, her family has announced.

She died after a battle with lung cancer, which she first disclosed publicly in January 2023.

Her family paid tribute to a “most wonderful mother” and “cherished grandmother”, remembering her for an “endless capacity for joy”.

In December 2023, Dame Esther revealed that she had joined the assisted-dying organisation Dignitas and was considering travelling there to end her life.

Earlier this month, she said it was now too late to “buzz off” to the Swiss clinic, as she spoke of the anguish caused by loved ones having to watch her suffer.

In a statement, she said that although she had “spent the money and made the plans” to travel to Dignitas, she had become “too physically fragile to make the journey”.

Her children revealed that Dame Esther wrote a poignant farewell message before her death.

The message said: “Dear Everybody, I am so sorry I cannot send you each individual thanks for the fun, the support and the help you have been to me. I have been immensely lucky in the friendship and the professional advice I have had from you which has enabled me to live such a long and happy life.

“If any of you would like to donate something to charity in my name, as a celebration of what we have had together, I do know that the Dignitas charity in Switzerland is facing serious challenges and would be very grateful.

“And Oakhaven Hospice in Lymington has also been wonderful to me. Cathy would, of course, like me to pay tribute to Cats Protection.

“Sadly, all good things come to an end, as they say. So I particularly wanted to say goodbye and thank you so very, very much. Perhaps I will see you eventually, on the other side. I do hope so. With very good wishes, as ever, Esther.”

A statement from her children, Miriam Wilcox, Rebecca Wilcox and Joshua Wilcox, said: “Our adored mother, Dame Esther Rantzen, died today. Her legacy of compassion and understanding will live on through her charities, Childline and Silverline, and through all of us who were lucky enough to love and be loved by her.

“We are grateful that she is finally at rest with her beloved husband, Desmond Wilcox, but we will miss her immeasurably. She was our sunshine. We will always remember her endless capacity for joy, her ability to comfort every heartache, her beautiful way with words and her expert guidance in all things.

“She was the most wonderful mother to the three of us and a cherished grandmother to her five treasured grandchildren. We have been so lucky for so long. However much time we had with Mum, it could never have been enough, but we are deeply grateful for our lives together.

“Mum’s charity work and campaigning, particularly on behalf of children, older people and the terminally ill, meant everything to her. Thank you to everyone who wrote to her, shared their stories over the years and worked alongside her.

“We hope the humour, ingenuity and audacity she brought to her work will continue to inspire you, as it will inspire us. We kindly ask for privacy and time to grieve.”

The broadcaster was diagnosed with lung cancer in January 2023 and was later told that the disease could not be cured.

Dame Esther had previously said she did not expect to live long enough to turn 84, but outlived doctors’ predictions after receiving treatment with an experimental drug.

The presenter, who was made a dame in 2015, was best known as the face of long-running BBC show That’s Life! and for launching the charity ChildLine.

She had three children with her late producer husband Desmond Wilcox, who she had an affair with when he was her boss at the BBC.

Esther Louise Rantzen was born in Berkhamsted, Hampshire, in June 1940, shortly after Britain’s humiliating retreat from Dunkirk in the face of the Nazis’ rampage through France.

One of her earliest memories was of standing in her cot aged around 18 months listening to the wail of air raid sirens.

When she was five, her parents – Harry and Katherine – decided to move the family, which included younger daughter Priscilla, back to the leafy suburbs of Hampstead in north London.

During the war, Dame Esther’s parents sponsored a Jewish boy who had fled Germany aged seven.

When Dame Esther was 10, her father got a job with the United Nations in New York and so the family moved stateside for two years. 

On their return, they lived again in Hampstead. Esther was educated at North London Collegiate, an elite private school for girls.

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Dame Esther remembered the excitement of being the first house on her street to get a television. 

It was banished to the hall as her parents believed television ‘killed the art of conversation’. 

Instead it was enjoyed by the paper boy, who would spend hours watching it through their letterbox.

The broadcaster described herself as a naughty child, a trait inherited from her mother. 

She recalled an occasion when she invited a friend who had ‘an anarchist husband’ to tea. 

When her mother entered the room and he didn’t stand up she tipped his chair forward.

Later in life Dame Esther said: ‘The importance of family and hearth and home is central to Judaism and to me. 

‘My children will tell you I’m the archetypal Jewish mother. I have a little sign up in my house: ‘Mirror mirror on the wall, I am my mother after all.”

Her father also encouraged the rule-breaker and expected her and her sister to ‘have a career as if [they] were boys.’

Encouraged to go to university, she won a place at Oxford, where she studied English and appeared in plays and revues. 

After graduating, Dame Esther got a job at the BBC in a radio sound effects department and then was taken on as a TV researcher.

She was given her first role on screen by Canadian star Bernard Braden, who had his own programme, Braden’s Week.

But it was in 1973 that Dame Esther got her big break with the creation of That’s Life! 

She was handpicked as the star of the new show by her future husband, who was head of general features at the BBC. 

Dame Esther and Wilcox met when she was on Braden’s Week. The producer was married with three children but the pair could not help falling in love.

Their marriage in 1977 was followed by consternation among BBC colleagues.

Wilcox ended up resigning from his BBC job in 1980 amid accusations he had breached rules by employing his future wife.

But the couple were devoted to each other, to the extent that Wilcox even converted to Judaism. 

The birth of their first daughter Emily in early 1978 was followed by the arrival of Rebecca in 1980 and then son Joshua in 1981.    

As for Dame Esther’s career, it went from strength to strength. By the late 1970s, That’s Life! was pulling in an incredible 15million viewers. 

One of That’s Life!’s most iconic episodes came in the 1988 episode when hero  stockbroker Sir Nicholas Winton was introduced to some of the people who he had saved from death in the Holocaust.

In a moment that has been watched millions of times since, Dame Esther said: ‘Is there anybody in our audience tonight who owes their life to Nicholas Winton? If so, can you stand up please.’

After a short pause, four rows of middle-aged people stood up. All of them owed their lives to Sir Nicholas, who was knighted for his heroics in 2003.

Sir Nicholas stood up, acknowledged them all and then sat down to wipe away tears.

The hero had rescued 669 youngsters in Europe by organising Kindertransport trains that brought them to Britain before the outbreak of the Second World War.

He also organised flights that brought children out of Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia on the eve of the conflict. 

By the 1990s, what had been the revolutionary formula of That’s Life! looked tired. Amid dwindling viewing figures, the show was axed in 1994.  

Dame Esther had by then launched Childline, which grew out of 1986 programme Childwatch.

Nathan Cleary accepted his first Dally M Medal from home on Wednesday night as he recovered from a serious ankle injury, delivering an emotional speech that left his father, Ivan, close to tears at the awards ceremony.

The Penrith Panthers halfback claimed the NRL’s top individual honour with 67 votes, finishing ahead of Braydon Trindall on 53 and fellow Panther Dylan Edwards on 52.

The 28-year-old joined the ceremony at The Cutaway in Barangaroo via a live cross from his parents’ home in Sydney. His father, who coaches Penrith, watched from a table inside the venue.

“I’d like to thank my parents and my family. They’ve done everything for me. They’ve sacrificed so much and put so much time and effort into me growing up,” Cleary said.

“This whole year I’ve actually been living at home with them because my house is getting fixed, so they’ve looked after me well this year, and I can’t thank them enough.”

Cleary also reserved special praise for his partner, Mary Fowler, who plays for Manchester City in England.

“I also want to say a big thank you to my partner (Mary Fowler) as well. It’s tough doing long distance, but she always makes me feel supported and loved and that’s all I could ever ask for. She’s just amazing,” he said.

Fowler spends up to 10 months a year in England with Manchester City. The couple met at an Adidas store event in Sydney in 2023, the same year Fowler played a key role in the Matildas’ run to the Women’s World Cup semi-finals.

Ivan Cleary had left hospital earlier that day after undergoing two rounds of surgery for the shattered ankle his son suffered during a tackle by Knights player Phoenix Crossland at the weekend.

The double compound fracture to Cleary’s left leg is expected to require months of rehabilitation. Crossland received a four-game suspension for the hip-drop tackle, with the ban including Sunday’s grand final.

Although Cleary has been widely regarded as the best player of the decade, the Dally M Medal had previously eluded him because of a series of injuries and suspensions.

He played 23 matches this season, created 29 tries and led Penrith’s charge to the preliminary final before the Panthers were eliminated by the Knights.

Cleary had led the Dally M voting for most of the season and finished the count with 67 points, ahead of Trindall on 53 and Edwards on 52.

In the NRLW, Tamika Upton claimed her third Dally M Medal as player of the year, becoming the first woman to win the award three times.

Upton finished two votes clear of Wests Tigers star Raecene McGregor and eight ahead of the Sydney Roosters’ Tarryn Aiken.

“I still remember when I was seven years old playing for the Blackwater Crushers. I actually thought I was going to play NRL. There was no NRLW,” Upton said.

Among the other notable award winners was rookie of the year Ethan Sanders of the Raiders, and Rabbitohs star Jai Arrow, who played his 100th and farewell game for the Bunnies on September 4.

Arrow attended the ceremony alongside his wife, Berina Colakovic.

He made the tough decision to step back from NRL and focus on his health after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease earlier this year.

He was awarded the Peter Frilingos headline moment of the year and also the Provan-Summons Medal, for displaying the spirit of the game.

Executive Chairman Peter V’landys applauded all the players for an incredible 2026.

‘Rugby League has enjoyed another record-breaking season, with record attendances, highest ever number of viewers on our broadcast platforms and more participation than ever before,’ he said. 

‘Our players deserve all the credit. Week after week, they have delivered the skill, courage and fierce competition that makes our game so compelling and powerful.

‘To all our winners, congratulations. These honours recognise exceptional achievement, but also the years of hard work, sacrifice and determination behind it.

‘You should be immensely proud of what you have accomplished and what you have given your teammates, your clubs and your supporters.’

The 2026 season will come to an end with the grand final on Sunday.

The Sydney Roosters and the Newcastle Knights will compete for the premiership at Sydney’s Accor Stadium from 7.30pm AEDT.

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Three teenagers who died when a car broke through a barrier and plunged into the River Wear have been named and pictured.

Emergency crews were called to the river at Panns Bank, near Wearmouth Bridge in Sunderland, at about 1.30pm on Tuesday.

Four teenagers were reportedly travelling in the black Audi A3 when it entered the water. The fourth passenger, a 17-year-old boy, escaped and has since been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

The three victims have been identified as Jackson Duke, 17, Luke Etheridge, 16, and Zara Shaw, 16.

Northumbria Police said officers are still working to establish who was behind the wheel.

Chief Superintendent Scott Cowie, Sunderland’s area commander, said: “First and foremost, our thoughts remain with the families and friends of the teenagers who have so tragically lost their lives.

“The past 24 hours have brought unimaginable agony and heartbreak to the loved ones of Luke, Jackson and Zara.

“All three had their whole futures ahead of them and will be deeply missed.

“I know the wider community will want to join me in sending their heartfelt condolences to the families at this devastating time.”

“We will do everything we can to support them and continue to ask that their privacy is respected.

“We also recognise the impact this tragedy has had on the people of Sunderland and further afield, and know you will continue to support one another.”

He added: “The investigation into the circumstances that led to the car entering the water remains ongoing.

“We continue to ask members of the public not to speculate about the incident, either on social media or within the community.

“Please be mindful of the potential impact such comments could have on the families of everyone involved.”

Police said Jackson and Luke were from the Sunderland area, while Zara was from Houghton-le-Spring.

The other 17-year-old passenger was taken to hospital and treated for injuries that were not considered serious.

Police officers, firefighters and paramedics sealed off a car park after the vehicle crashed through a barrier and entered the river.

Images show ambulances, police cars and a fire engine lining the riverbank and two rescue boats in the river.

The Coastguard and RNLI were seen using poles to probe the water, alongside their helicopter, which was deployed in the search.

Earlier this afternoon the mangled car was lifted out of the water by a crane. The front of the vehicle was severely damaged and the bonnet appeared to be missing.

The operation to recover the car involved police divers entering the river and attaching a harness to the black hatchback, then it was lifted out.

Shortly after 1pm on Wednesday, the vehicle began to emerge from the river, upside down and showing damage to its front bumper and windscreen.

A wide police cordon was held around the scene.

Water cascaded from the Audi as it was held in mid-air during the recovery, which coincided with low tide.

The vehicle was placed back on dry land, on its roof, just under 24 hours after it entered the river.

The operation brought onlookers to the riverside downstream from the Wearmouth Bridge.

Earlier, people threw bunches of flowers into the Wear close to the scene.

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Dozens of panicked onlookers gathered on either side of the river to watch the response unfold. 

A nearby resident, who did not wish to be named, said his neighbour called emergency services after witnessing the incident from his window. 

The 31-year-old said: ‘There were loads of ambulances here. We had helicopters here at one point.

‘This is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this around here.

‘I’ve lived here for three years, this is sad to see.

‘Some families may get some awful, awful news today.’

Another man, who did not wish to be named, reported hearing a ‘bang’ and a sound ‘like a very large rock hitting water’, followed shortly by sirens.

The crash site is reportedly popular with youths driving cars erratically, including performing ‘donuts’ where the vehicle rotates in a circle to create skid marks, locals have said. Such skid marks were visible at the scene today. 

One girl who witnessed the crash and then telephoned the emergency services said there was no sign of the driver showing off before the incident. 

The 17-year-old, who did not want to be named, said: ‘The car came down into the car park and it parked up in a bay in front of the barriers. There was nothing unusual in the way it was driving.

‘The driver and a passenger got out and had a quick chat. I don’t know for sure, but when they got back into the car I think they might have swapped positions, so the passenger was driving.

‘All of a sudden, the car just flew through the barrier. It was as if the driver had tried to reverse and put the car in first gear by accident.’

She added: ‘We just heard this crash and saw the car go through the barrier and then the screeching noise of the bottom of the car scraping against the side of the river wall.

‘I phoned 999 and by that time the boy had got out. He had gone under as if he was looking for the car but then came straight back up.

‘He then swam around to the other side of the car and was screaming “help”.

‘He swam to a ladder and climbed out. An onlooker grabbed a life ring and ran to the edge of the water, as though he was waiting for someone to come back up, but no one did.

‘I was so shocked by the whole thing, I was trying to rattle everything off to the police.

‘All the emergency services arrived so quickly, fire engines, ambulances, and the boy who got out was over on the concrete.

‘People on social media have been saying they were doing donuts but they weren’t, those marks were definitely from other people.’

Sunderland Football Club were among those to respond to the tragedy yesterday.

A spokesman said: ‘Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragic incident on the River Wear today.

‘At a deeply difficult time for our city, our thoughts are with the families and friends of those who have lost their lives, and everyone affected by this tragedy. We also pay tribute to the emergency services and all those who have responded at the scene.’

Sunderland College said: ‘We are deeply saddened to hear three students from our Bede Campus tragically lost their lives yesterday afternoon.

‘This is a heartbreaking loss for our college community, and the wider city of Sunderland.

‘Everyone at Sunderland College extends our heartfelt thoughts and deepest condolences to their families, friends, and loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.

‘We also pay tribute to the emergency services and all those who responded at the scene. Support is available to any students or our colleagues who may be affected by this tragedy and ask that the privacy of the families of those involved is respected.’

Police have said no other vehicle was believed to have been involved in the incident.

Anyone with information, in particular CCTV or dashcam footage, has been asked to send Northumbria Police a direct message on social media or use live chat and report forms on the Force’s website.

Alternatively, 101 can be dialled, quoting reference number NP-20260929-0589.

A single mother says the only thing she has to show for the $405,000 she paid for a new home is one tap, while the director of collapsed builder Beechwood Homes has blamed “family tragedies” and soaring operating costs for the company’s failure.

Beechwood Homes Group, which was directed by Vittorio Cavasinni, operated eight companies across Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong before entering liquidation earlier this year.

The group owed approximately $75.5 million to more than 400 creditors, according to the Daily Telegraph.

William Buck insolvency specialists Sean Wengel and Michael Brereton were appointed to manage the liquidation of Beechwood Homes NSW in May, following an order from the Supreme Court of Victoria.

In documents filed with ASIC, Mr Cavasinni said the company’s collapse was linked to its fixed-price building model. He claimed Beechwood could not raise contract prices as operating expenses climbed from early 2020.

He also said his wife had experienced serious health problems and that other “tragedies” affecting the family had taken his attention away from the business.

Mr Wengel said the former director had failed to complete a director’s report that would have helped liquidators examine the company’s debts.

Virginia Fletcher, a single mother of 11, is among the many Beechwood customers left facing uncertainty after the builder’s collapse.

Ms Fletcher paid Beechwood Homes Constructions $405,000 in January 2025. But the promised construction, which was expected to start by Christmas, never got under way.

“I’ve got nothing to go to. Who will rent to someone with so many kids?” she told the Daily Telegraph.

“I try to put on a brave face for my children, but I am not okay.”

She said she had been forced to sell her existing home to clear about $143,000 in debt and was now worried she could not afford the deposit needed to secure another property.

Six of her 11 children still live with her, including her youngest child, who is seven.

“I am very stressed. This has impacted my functional capacity,” Ms Fletcher wrote in a fundraising appeal seeking support for her family.

“The financial loss has affected every part of my life and has had a significant impact on my children.

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“I struggle to get out of bed on many days, and I often cry myself to sleep.”

Ms Fletcher started a GoFundMe campaign to support her family and warn other Australians about what happened.

“I paid Beechwood Homes [Constructions] $405,000 in good faith, believing I was entering into a building contract and that my money would be protected,” she said.

‘Following the company’s liquidation, I was informed that I was not considered to be in a building contract. 

‘The liquidator advised there were insufficient assets to repay unsecured creditors and suggested I start a GoFundMe because there was little prospect of recovering my money.’

Ms Fletcher claimed her funds were paid into the company’s operating account rather than being held in trust and were spent within 35 days of payment. 

‘Today, the only item I have to show for the $405,000 I paid is a single tap on my empty block of land,’ she said.

‘I understand there are numerous affected families, contractors, suppliers and pre-construction customers.’ 

Worrells liquidators Graeme Beattie and Aaron Lucan were appointed to oversee the other seven companies.

Those include Cavasinni, Beechwood Homes Administration NSW, Beechwood Homes Constructions, Beechwood Homes Australia, Home Completions, Construction Administration NSW and Masonix.

Beechwood Homes NSW alone had 38 projects under construction and 68 in pre-construction when it collapsed. 

Customers with unfinished homes were offered to have their building finished by another constructor through the Home Building Compensation Fund.

The Daily Mail Australia previously contacted Beechwood Homes and group director Vittorio Cavasinni.

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