Dame Esther Rantzen has said she is now “too physically fragile” to travel to Switzerland to end her life at an assisted suicide clinic.
The veteran broadcaster, 86, said she would have to fly to the country, where the practice is legal, alone, which she could only have done before her life became “unbearable” and before she was ready to end her life.
The Childline founder, who is terminally ill with cancer, first revealed in December 2023 that she had joined the Dignitas clinic.
Dame Esther used her statement on Thursday to reiterate a plea for MPs to vote in favour of legalising assisted dying in England and Wales when proposed legislation is revisited by Parliament on Friday.
She announced she had joined Dignitas about a year after being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.
“Unfortunately, when I was strong enough to make the flight and go to Dignitas, my life was not unbearably painful, indeed I was able to relax in my beloved cottage in the New Forest,” she said.
“And by the time life did become unbearable, I was too physically fragile to make the journey and go through the Dignitas process.
“So even though I had spent the money and made the plans, I was not ready to end my life back then, and did not realise that would be my last chance.”
Dame Esther added that “everything I didn’t want to happen I’m having to go through now”, with loved ones either unable to visit her or “see me suffering pain or indignity” when they do.
The prominent assisted dying campaigner said the law – which she described as “messy and cruel” – must “change and change quickly”.
Helping someone end their life is currently considered a criminal offence across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Jersey legalised assisted dying for terminally ill adults earlier this year.
MPs are considering a draft law that, if passed, would make it legal in England and Wales under specific circumstances for people who are terminally ill with less than six months to live.
While Dame Esther, who is best known for presenting the BBC programme That’s Life! for 21 years, is among several leading figures in favour of the bill, there are also campaigners against it, including Paralympian Baroness Grey-Thompson
They fear that a change in the law could mean that disabled and other vulnerable people could be pressured to end their lives, while also criticising the wording of the proposed legislation as not providing strong enough safeguards.
The bill has been through several drafts and has been scrutinised by several Parliamentary committees and the House of Lords, which submitted 1,200 amendments.
The bill was previously introduced in 2024, but the last session of Parliament ran out of time before it was passed.
It was reintroduced in this Parliament and a second vote will be held on Friday afternoon. If it passes the House of Commons, rarely invoked powers could be used, meaning it would not need the assent of the Lords to become law this time.
Proponents of the bill have indicated they would try to bring legislation again as soon as possible were it to be voted down on Friday.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he would not be voting on the issue and has suggested that palliative and social care should be better funded before legalising assisted suicide is considered.
Assisted dying is legal in a number of countries – including Canada, Australia and Belgium – as well as in Switzerland, though the circumstances under which it is legal differ between those nations.
