‘The only thing missing at Easter was my mother
Esther’s daughter ‘greedy for family time’
DAME Esther Rantzen missed her traditional family Easter gathering as she couldn’t travel, her heartbroken daughter has revealed.
But Rebecca Wilcox, 44 – who hosted – said it will be “business as usual” when they are reunited.
She added: “The only thing missing from this glorious weekend was my mother. She didn’t host our usual gathering and she couldn’t travel to be with us.” Dame Esther stayed home with her other daughter, Miriam, while Rebecca was joined by brother Joshua and his family, and her in-laws.
Rebecca said: “I know I’m lucky to have them all but forgive me for wanting my mum to be here too. I’m clearly greedy for family time.”
Grandmother-of-five Dame Esther, 83, has stage 4 lung cancer and has
joined Dignitas, the Swiss suicide clinic, as her right to die is banned in the UK. Under existing laws, her three children could be prosecuted for murder or manslaughter as accessories if they travelled to Zurich with her.
That’s Life! co-creator Dame Esther is fighting for a law change that would give her, and millions of others, control of their deaths.
MPs will debate the issue on April
29, but Rebecca knows that if lawmakers allowed assisted dying, it would be too late for her mum.
She said: “I’ll pop by this week as I have got her an enormous Easter egg. When I give it to her, I hope we can just pretend the Easter Bunny was late, and
that life is as it always should be. Every day is a big moment for us. Every single day is precious. The most important thing is to see each other as often as possible.”
This month’s debate will not end in a vote but Dame Esther, left, hopes it will be the catalyst for change.