Childline was Esther Rantzen’s favourite child, daughter says

Childline was Dame Esther Rantzen’s favourite child, the broadcaster’s daughter has said as guests gathered to mark the charity’s 40th anniversary.

An event celebrating the organisation’s four decades took place in London on Wednesday, a week after the campaigner’s death aged 86 after a cancer diagnosis.

Her death prompted tributes from celebrities, campaigners and Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who said she “changed countless lives and gave a voice to people who often went unheard”.

Rebecca Wilcox, Dame Esther’s daughter, said she realised her mother loved Childline more than her and her siblings “from day one”.

“Childline was the favoured sibling,” she said. “We always knew that, and now I know why.

“Childline has supernatural powers and it’s because you go there and you think you know what it is, you suddenly see what it is and it’s like a love spell.”

She added: “I knew there was a reason mum made me get on the train today and it was to see you all because I need to be reminded that there’s good in the world and this room is flipping full of it.”

Rebecca Wilcox (Jonathan Brady/PA)

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Ms Wilcox said children were her mother’s “favourite people”.

“Children are everything that she wants this world to look after and I think we should all be a bit more like her and protect those children,” she said.

Spice Girl Geri Halliwell-Horner, a Childline ambassador, who attended the event, said Dame Esther had “worked tirelessly to found Childline 40 years ago” and “would want us to honour her work” by ensuring it carries on.

Dame Esther, who spent 21 years fronting BBC consumer affairs show That’s Life!, founded Childline – to provide counselling for young people – after a temporary helpline for viewers affected by a programme about a toddler who had starved to death was swamped with callers.

Esther Rantzen (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)

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The calls mainly came from children suffering sexual abuse they had never been able to disclose to anyone else, giving Dame Esther the idea for a specific helpline for children, open 24/7 throughout the year.

Halliwell-Horner said: “Of course, there’s no way to discuss the incredible work of Childline without mentioning the inspirational Dame Esther Rantzen, who worked tirelessly to found Childline 40 years ago.

“I first met Esther following the death of my dear friend George Michael in 2016. After George died, it was Esther who told me how much he had donated to the charity over the years and it blew me away.

“I wanted to continue George’s legacy and, after an encouraging conversation with Esther, approached the charity and soon became a Childline ambassador. I’m proud to have had the opportunity to work with volunteers and colleagues who help hundreds of thousands of children in need each year.

Geri Halliwell-Horner (Jonathan Brady/PA)

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“I’ve been very fortunate to be friends with Esther for a decade, and I know how proud she was of Childline. I think it is so important that we work to continue her legacy.

“Children and young people need us more than ever and I know Esther would want us to honour her work and continue the vital, important work that Childline does.”

NSPCC chief executive Chris Sherwood described Dame Esther as a “unique, inspiring and truly remarkable woman” who had “dedicated so much of her time and energy to ensuring there was always somewhere to turn and someone to talk to for children in need of help”.

He said Wednesday’s event was an opportunity for people to come together “to pay their own tribute to Esther, look back over the last 40 years and look forward to the next decade and beyond for the service”.

Childline, now part of the NSPCC children’s charity, has delivered more than six million counselling sessions.

In 1986, the top concern that Childline counselled children about was sexual abuse (27% of calls and letters), but the biggest reason young people contact now – including through its online chat service – is mental and emotional health (33% of counselling sessions in 2025/26).

The charity also noted that artificial intelligence, social media and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic had all been mentioned in contacts in recent years.

Wednesday’s event took place ahead of Childline’s official 40th anniversary on October 30.