Rebecca Wilcox has opened up about possibly facing prosecution if she accompanies her mum, Dame Esther Rantzen, to an assisted dying clinic.
In December 2023, Dame Esther, 83, who has stage four lung cancer, announced she was considering travelling to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland for an assisted death, as it is illegal in the UK.
She has been campaigning for the legalisation of the practice in the UK ever since, with her petition to force a parliamentary debate on the issuem, after it exceeded 100,000 signatures.
Speaking to Hello!, Rebecca said: “My mum said that she lost her mother, her husband and her dog within a very short time and that of the three, the dog had the most wonderful death, and the others didn’t.
“We’re just hoping that flight to Dignitas doesn’t have to happen any time soon. I can’t say whether I’d go with her because I’d face prosecution, which would be a nightmare at the worst time in my life and something I don’t think I’d ever get over.”
She added: “But it would be a very strange version of me that would let her go alone.”
Rebecca, 44, a journalist and presenter on the BBC’s Morning Live programme, said she and the family feel “so lucky” that Dame Esther is “still with” them, after having another precious Christmas with the beloved TV icon.
Dame Esther’s diagnosis comes as a tragic blow not only for her children, Rebecca and her siblings, Joshua and Miriam, but also for the charities for which she has worked tirelessly with for years.
Her role as the president of Childline, the NSPCC’s counselling service, which was founded by Dame Esther, will be taken over by Rebecca, who said she would be deputy president until the “inevitable happens”.
Rebecca, who trained as a volunteer counsellor and joined the charity’s Childhood Day event this month, said: “Obviously, I’ve grown up with the charity, and it has always held a very special place in my heart.”
Dame Esther, who has planned her assisted death to avoid affecting her family’s memories of her, is now in a stable condition due to a “miracle” drug that is only effective in certain cases.
It means she has been offered some more time with her family, and although she has been impacted physically by the condition, she remains mentally sharp.
Rebecca said she has been preparing her sons for the tragic outcome, as she does not want the shock of losing their grandmother, whom they affectionately call “Etta”, to add to their grief.
The family is now enjoying as much time as possible with Dame Esther, who is currently spending her days at her New Forest home, a location that is “filled with every memory she could possibly want,” according to Rebecca.
Rebecca said: “For me, my mum’s legacy will be her endless capacity for kindness. Constantly thinking of other people is a wonderful – if exhausting – way to live, but it is how she’s lived her life.”