Dame Esther Rantzen urges peers to back assisted-dying bill as Kate Garraway becomes emotional on Good Morning Britain

Dame Esther Rantzen, 85, made an emotional plea to members of the House of Lords on Friday as the upper chamber debated legislation to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, telling peers she is making arrangements to travel to Dignitas in Switzerland if the bill is blocked.

The appeal was delivered during a phone interview on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, where presenter Kate Garraway was visibly upset and fought back tears. Dame Esther, who was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 2023, said she wanted to represent terminally ill people and urged the Lords not to prevent the bill from progressing.

"I'm not afraid of death, but I am, as someone once said, afraid of dying, I'm afraid of dying badly," Dame Esther said during the interview. "I'm making arrangements because it's the only way I can have an assisted death, to go by myself to Zurich, to Dignitas. I just wish that I was allowed to say goodbye to my family and for them to see that I have a good death. Please, House of Lords, give us terminally ill patients the hope, the confidence, the choice that if life gets unbearable, they can ask for help."

The draft legislation under debate would allow adults deemed terminally ill with less than six months to live to request assisted death. Under the proposal each case would require approval by two doctors and a panel of experts that could include a psychiatrist, a social worker and a senior legal figure; if approved, the terminally ill person would be permitted to take an approved substance as part of the assisted death process.

Dame Esther also addressed concerns raised by disability advocates that the measure could be misapplied, saying the law would be limited to people who are terminally ill with six months or less to live. "Some disabled people think that it will apply to them, well, it won't. It can't, unless they are terminally ill with six months or less to live," she said.

The appearance came as a substantial number of peers prepared to take part in the Lords debate. Nearly 200 peers had put their names down to speak, a number reported to be a record for the chamber and one that some commentators said suggested broad interest across the parties. Parliamentary passage would require the bill to secure sufficient support in the Lords before returning to the Commons and, if carried forward, could lead to a change in law.

Public opinion on assisted dying has shown variation depending on question wording. A Daily Mail survey reported in recent months found that while around three quarters of respondents supported changing the law in principle, support fell sharply when people were told how assisted dying works in other countries. That report also said nearly six in ten respondents doubted it would be possible to create safeguards sufficient to prevent coercion of vulnerable people. Other recent polls commissioned by different organisations have put public backing in the range of about 60 to 73 percent.

Garraway, 58, who lost her husband Derek Draper last year after long-term complications related to Covid-19, paused during the interview and blinked back tears as Dame Esther spoke. The exchange was broadcast on Good Morning Britain, which airs weekdays on ITV.

Debate in the House of Lords is expected to continue, and peers will consider the details of the bill, including proposed safeguards, eligibility criteria and the composition of the approval panel. Supporters of the legislation say it would give terminally ill people choice and control at the end of life; opponents have warned of potential risks to vulnerable groups and urged caution in changing the law.

No immediate vote to enact the bill into law was expected on Friday; if peers give the measure sufficient backing it would progress through further stages of parliamentary scrutiny before any change in statute could take effect.