Rantzen, the beloved British journalist, television presenter and charity campaigner, has died at the age of 86.

Her family confirmed that she died at her home in the New Forest, surrounded by loved ones, per Sky News.

Rantzen was best known for hosting the BBC’s hugely popular consumer affairs show That’s Life! for more than two decades. She later devoted much of her life to helping children and older people through the charities she founded.

A Television Career That Spanned Decades

Rantzen became a household name as the host of That’s Life!, which aired from 1973 until 1994.

The program mixed humor with serious investigations into issues affecting ordinary people. It covered everything from consumer complaints to child abuse and the shortage of organ donors.

Rantzen helped turn the program into one of the BBC’s most recognizable shows.

But some of the stories she encountered on television also inspired her work away from the cameras.

Founding Childline

In the mid-1980s, Rantzen worked on a program about a young child who had died from starvation.

A temporary helpline was set up for viewers affected by the story. It was flooded with calls, including from children who said they were suffering sexual abuse and had never told anyone.

The response inspired Rantzen to establish Childline in 1986.

The service provided children and young people with a safe place to seek help and speak about problems they felt unable to discuss with anyone else.

Her charity work did not end there.

In 2012, Rantzen launched The Silver Line, a helpline created to combat loneliness among older people.

Her Cancer Diagnosis

Rantzen revealed in 2023 that she had been diagnosed with lung cancer. She later announced that the disease had progressed to stage four.

Her diagnosis led her to become one of Britain’s most prominent supporters of changing the law on assisted dying.

She spoke openly about considering traveling to Switzerland, where assisted dying is permitted under certain circumstances.

By September 2026, however, Rantzen said she had become too physically fragile to make the journey.

After efforts to legalize assisted dying in England and Wales were defeated in Parliament, she described the result as a “tragic day.”

Family Pays Tribute

Rantzen’s children, Miriam, Rebecca and Joshua Wilcox, remembered their mother for her compassion, humor and love for her family.

They described her as “the most wonderful mother” and a cherished grandmother to her five grandchildren, according to a statement.

They said they were grateful that she was finally at rest with her late husband, filmmaker and television producer Desmond Wilcox, who died in 2000.

“We will miss her immeasurably. She was our sunshine,” her children said.

They added that her work helping children, older people and terminally ill people meant the world to her.

Rantzen’s family said they hope the “humour, ingenuity and audacity” she brought to her work will continue to inspire others.

Her legacy lives on through the millions of people she reached on television and through the charities she helped create.