biography
| name: |
Rantzen, Esther (Louise)
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| sex:
| female
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| lived:
| (1940– )
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| biography:
| Television presenter and producer, born in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, SE England, UK. She studied at Oxford, and joined the BBC in 1963, making sound effects for radio drama. She went on to be a researcher, then reporter, and during 1973–94 produced and presented That's Life, a populist consumer programme. She has campaigned against issues of child abuse and drug problems in a variety of documentaries, such as Childwatch (1987), and founded the charity ‘Childline’. In 1988 she received the Richard Dimbleby Award for her contributions to factual television. She married broadcaster Desmond Wilcox (1931–2000) in 1977, their joint publications including Kill the Chocolate Biscuit (1981) and Baby Love (1987). She began presenting the talk-show Esther for BBC2 in 1995, and a new series of issue-based journalism for ITV in 1998. |
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