[ad_1]

Dame Esther Rantzen was honoured with the Gold Medal at the Royal Television Society Awards on Tuesday night, the charity’s highest accolade.

The Childline founder, 83, was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer last year and it was announced earlier this month she had registered for the assisted-dying clinic Dignitas, in Switzerland.

Rebecca Willcox, Dame Esther’s daughter, accepted the honour on her mother’s behalf at the ceremony at The Grosvenor House Hotel in London on Tuesday – as the broadcaster was too unwell to attend. 

The award was presented by Susanna Reid, who called Esther ‘television’s original consumer’s champion and its most fearless campaigner’.

In an emotional speech after the ceremony, Rebecca said it ‘infuriates’ her that her mother had not been well enough to go to the event and accept the award herself.

Dame Esther Rantzen was honoured with the Gold Medal at the Royal Television Society Awards in London on Tuesday

Dame Esther Rantzen was honoured with the Gold Medal at the Royal Television Society Awards in London on Tuesday

Rebecca Willcox, Dame Esther’s daughter, accepted the honour on her mother’s behalf at the ceremony at The Grosvenor House Hotel – as the broadcaster was too unwell to attend

‘It’s totally bizarre to accept this on behalf of mum because she should be here,’ Rebecca said. 

‘It was such a wonderful speech that Susanna Reid did and such a warm feeling from the room and it infuriates me that she can’t be here.’

Rebecca added: ‘Her health doesn’t allow it but I hope that she’s going to see it and I hope that she can feel what we all felt in the room.’

Dame Esther has joined the call by campaigners for a change to the law on assisted dying in the UK and led a chorus of dismay after a much-anticipated report by MPs into assisted dying failed to deliver any clear-cut findings or proposals. 

Appearing on Vanessa Feltz’s Talk TV show earlier this month, Rebecca, 44, said her mother’s ‘ideal death’ would be surrounded by her loved ones but due to UK laws she cannot be accompanied by her family to Switzerland. 

Under the law in England, Wales and Northern Ireland assisting suicide is punishable with up to 14 years in prison. There is no specific offence in Scotland.

Rebecca said: ‘Vanessa this is impossible I have been fine with every other interview but because it is you and you are a friend of the family, I’m finding it hard to verbalize it. 

The award was presented by Susanna Reid , who called Esther 'television's original consumer's champion and its most fearless campaigner'

The award was presented by Susanna Reid , who called Esther ‘television’s original consumer’s champion and its most fearless campaigner’

In an emotional speech after the ceremony, Rebecca said it 'infuriates' her that her mother had not been well enough to go to the event and accept the award herself (Pictured in 2018)

In an emotional speech after the ceremony, Rebecca said it ‘infuriates’ her that her mother had not been well enough to go to the event and accept the award herself (Pictured in 2018)

'It's totally bizarre to accept this on behalf of mum because she should be here,' Rebecca said (Pictured in

‘It’s totally bizarre to accept this on behalf of mum because she should be here,’ Rebecca said (Pictured in 

‘It is the question you can’t answer, as you know: ‘How is she?’ as everybody knows who has experienced cancer. You are as good as your last scan and for the moment the miracle drug she is on is working and is a holding drug. 

‘The report which was clearly very thorough and sympathetic to everybody’s cause and spoke to a really wide range of society for people who have experienced it whose loved ones has done it, doctors, countries where it works and the interesting thing that I take away from it is the thing people worry about that palliative care will be degraded and that we will bring in euthanasia for those who just don’t want to carry on living. 

‘We are not talking about the mental health side of things. We are talking about a physical illness which has a terminal diagnosis where your life would end within around six months. 

‘It’s a question of saving people from a painful, undignified death.

‘Mum’s ideal death, my ideal death that I imagine, I share this with many people would be to be in bed surrounded by my loved ones.

‘Take a very gentle cocktail of whatever it may be, and I know I’m simply [saying] buying the medicine here, but then to gently drift off holding their hands. Who wouldn’t hold that?

Dame Esther has joined the call by campaigners for a change to the law on assisted dying in the UK and led a chorus of dismay after a much-anticipated report by MPs into assisted dying failed to deliver any clear-cut findings or proposals (Pictured in 1983)

Dame Esther has joined the call by campaigners for a change to the law on assisted dying in the UK and led a chorus of dismay after a much-anticipated report by MPs into assisted dying failed to deliver any clear-cut findings or proposals (Pictured in 1983)

‘Who instead would want to be in writhing agony for possibly months? How is it humane and progressive to think we are protecting people by not allowing them a painless, dignified death?’

Vanessa, who told viewers she a close friend of Esther’s, said before wiping away tears: ‘Rebecca, thank you very much, and give mummy all my love and a big kiss from me please.’

The inquiry, carried out by by the Health and Social Care Committee, was set up to provide ‘a basis for discussion’ into whether the law should be changed.

But the committee stopped short of calling for a House of Commons debate, which would have allowed MPs to thrash out their differences on existing legislation before holding a vote.

It instead recommended that the Government should consider how to respond if moves are made to bring assisted dying into law in parts of the UK.

Although currently illegal here, multiple crown dependencies – including Jersey and the Isle of Man – have taken steps towards legalising it.

Appearing on Vanessa's Talk TV show earlier this month, Rebecca, 44, said her mother's 'ideal death' would be surrounded by her loved ones but due to UK laws she cannot be accompanied by her family to Switzerland (Esther pictured in February)

Appearing on Vanessa’s Talk TV show earlier this month, Rebecca, 44, said her mother’s ‘ideal death’ would be surrounded by her loved ones but due to UK laws she cannot be accompanied by her family to Switzerland (Esther pictured in February)

Dame Esther said: ‘Many of us feel it is time this country caught up with the best practices abroad and the only way to achieve that is for a proper debate in Parliament with a free vote at the end of it.

‘I am profoundly disappointed that this report – which many of us have been waiting for – does not come up with that recommendation.

‘I am afraid in many ways it was a wasted opportunity. If they had said ‘we urgently need a Parliamentary debate and a free vote’, that could perhaps have fitted into my own timescale, but it doesn’t.’

Esther previously revealed she had not expected to spend this Christmas with her family after being diagnosed with cancer, but a ‘miracle’ drug had given her additional time with her loved ones.

RTS Programme Awards: Winners

 

Breakthrough Awards

Ashley Thomas – Great Expectations

Hamza Yassin – Hamza Yassin: Strictly Birds Of Prey

Lucy Edwards – Japan – The Way I See It – The Travel Show – WINNER

 

Arts

Becoming Frida 

Fight The Power: How Hip Hop Changed The World – WINNER

Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now 

 

Children’s Programme

A Kind Of Spark – WINNER

FYI Investigates: Kids Who Vape

Tabby McTat 

 

Comedy Drama

Big Boys 

Juice – WINNER

There She Goes 

Comedy Entertainment 

Rob & Romesh Vs – WINNER

Taskmaster 

The Graham Norton Show

 

Comedy Performance – Female

Máiréad Tyers – Extraordinary

Gbemisola Ikumelo – Black Ops – WINNER

Kat Salder – Such Brave Girls 

 

Comedy Performance – Male

Freddie Meredith – Such Brave Girls

Hammed Animashaun – Black Ops – WINNER

Jon Pointing – Big Boys 

 

Daytime Programme

Good Morning Britain – Matt Hancock Interview

Junior Bake Off

Scam Interceptors – WINNER

 

Documentary Series

Evacuation

Kids 

Once Upon A Time In Northern Ireland – WINNER

 

Drama Series 

Happy Valley – WINNER

The Gold

Top Boy 

 

Entertainment

Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel

Squid Game: The Challenge – WINNER

Strictly Come Dancing 

 

Entertainment Performance

Hannah Waddingham – Eurovision Song Contest 2023 – WINNER

Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond – The Great British Bake Off

Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan – Rob & Romesh Vs 

 

Formatted Popular Factual

Banged Up

Sort Your Life Out – WINNER

The Piano 

 

History 

Britain’s Human Zoos

The Man Who Played With Fire

White Nanny, Black Child – WINNER

 

Leading Actor – Female 

Jodie Whittaker – Time

Sarah Lancashire – Happy Valley

Tamara Lawrance – Time – WINNER

 

Leading Actor – Male 

Gary Oldman – Slow Horses

Kane Robinson – Top Boy – WINNER

Timothy Spall – The Sixth Commandment

 

Limited Series

Best Interests

Boiling Point

The Sixth Commandment – WINNER

 

Live Event 

Eurovision Song Contest 2023 – WINNER

The Coronation Concert

The Coronation of TM The King and Queen Camilla 

 

Presenter

Chris Packham – Inside Our Autistic Minds – WINNER

Rhod Gilbert – Rhod Gilbert: A Pain in the Neck

Stacey Solomon – Sort Your Life Out

Science & The Natural World 

Chimp Empire – WINNER

Inside Our Autistic Minds

Planet Earth III

 

Scripted Comedy

Black Ops

Extraordinary – WINNER

Such Brave Girls 

 

Single Documentary

Anorexic – Channel 5

Otto Baxter: Not A F***ing Horror Story – Sky Documentaries – WINNER

The Price Of Truth – Channel 4 

 

Single Drama

Consent

Men Up

Partygate – WINNER

 

Soap And Continuing Drama

Casualty

EastEnders – WINNER

Waterloo Road 

 

Sports Presenter, Commentator or Pundit

Alex Scott – FIFA Women’s World Cup – WINNER

Gabby Logan – FIFA Women’s World Cup

Nasser Hussain – The Ashes

 

Sports Programme

2023 Rugby World Cup

All Ireland Senior Football Championship Final – WINNER

The Ashes 

 

Supporting Actor – Female

Jasmine Jobson – Top Boy

Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo – Rain Dogs

Bella Ramsey – Time – WINNER

 

Supporting Actor – Male 

Araloyin Oshunremi – Top Boy

Mark Gatiss – Nolly

Éanna Hardwicke – The Sixth Commandment – WINNER

 

Writer – Comedy

Bridget Christie – The Change

Jack Rooke – Big Boys- WINNER

Joe Tucker, Lloyd Wolf, Gbemisola Ikumelo & Akemnji Ndifornyen – Black Ops 

 

Writer – Drama 

Emma Dennis-Edwards – Consent

Sally Wainright – Happy Valley

Sarah Phelps – The Sixth Commandment  – WINNER

[ad_2]

This post first appeared on Daily mail

You May Also Like

FDA and CDC Recommend Pausing COVID-19 Vaccination With J&J-Janssen Shot While They Investigate Blood Clot Risks

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and…

Researchers develop novel antibody fragments against SARS coronavirus-2

An international research team led by the University of Bonn (Germany) has…

Fauci warns there is no end in sight to the pandemic – Covid cases in the US are 16 TIMES too high

[ad_1] As the U.S. sees upwards of 160,000 new COVID-19 cases per…

Man who weighed 438LBS reveals he lost his virginity after shedding 169LBS in 18 months

[ad_1] A morbidly obese man who weighed nearly 450 pounds and couldn’t…