Childline was her 'favourite child', daughter says at charity's 40th anniversary tribute

From the Newshound archive · first published 7 October 2026 · last updated 8 October 2026.

Rebecca Wilcox told guests at a London event marking Childline's 40th anniversary that she knew "from day one" her mother Dame Esther Rantzen loved the charity more than her own children. The tribute came one week after Rantzen died aged 86 following a cancer diagnosis. Geri Halliwell-Horner, attending as a Childline ambassador, urged guests to honour Rantzen's legacy by securing the charity's future.

Wilcox said she needed to attend "to be reminded there's good in the world — and this room is flipping full of it."

Halliwell-Horner revealed she first met Rantzen after the death of George Michael in 2016, when Rantzen told her how much he had done for Childline.

Rantzen founded Childline after a temporary BBC helpline, set up following a programme about a starved toddler, was flooded with calls from children disclosing sexual abuse.