Meet Dame Esther Rantzen’s 3 children – including famous daughter who followed in her footsteps
Dame Esther Rantzen’s death was confirmed by her three children on Wednesday, but what do you know about the late TV star’s brood
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Oct 1, 2026, 11:48 AM GMT+1
Dame Esther Rantzen tragically passed away at the age of 86 on Wednesday, three years after she was diagnosed with lung cancer.
Her death was confirmed by her three children, Miriam, Rebecca, and Joshua, with the trio calling her their “adored mother” who will be remembered for her “endless capacity for joy”.
“Our adored mother, Dame Esther Rantzen, died today,” their statement started. “Her legacy of compassion and understanding will live on in her charities Childline and the Silver Line, and through those of us who were lucky enough to love and be loved by her.”
Dame Esther shared her children with her husband, producer Desmond Wilcox, who died at the age of 69 on 6 September 2000 following a heart attack.
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Here’s all you need to know about the late star’s children…
Miriam Wilcox
Dame Esther’s eldest daughter is Miriam, although she was originally born as Emily. Miriam opted to change her name after she joined Kabbalah, a discipline and school of thought that stems from Jewish mysticism.
Speaking to The Guardian in 2010 about the change, Esther confessed: “She recently joined Kabbalah and changed her name to a more biblical name, ‘Miriam’ – a little hard for me as she was named after my maternal grandmother, Emily, whom I adored. But I get round it by calling her ‘Em’.”
When she was 14, Miriam contracted glandular fever, which progressed into myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome.
Writing for MailOnline, Esther wrote: “It struck her down when she was 14, after an attack of glandular fever. She never fully recovered from the illness and we watched helplessly as she struggled with chronic fatigue which, like a sticky web, slowly paralysed her. In the end she was imprisoned – bed-bound, lying in a darkened room, unable to read, write or even to speak.”
Rebecca Wilcox
Dame Esther and Desmond’s middle child is Rebecca, and she’s followed in her mother’s footsteps by becoming a broadcaster. After starting work as a TV researcher, she then began working on shows like Hell’s Kitchen and Trust Me – I’m a Holiday Rep.
She started presenting when she worked on Conning the Conmen, How to Look Good Naked and Lewis Hamilton: Billion Dollar Man. Her biggest series came in 2009 when she presented My Life as an Animal, which saw volunteers spend four days with a herd of animals, in a bid to be accepted by them.
The star still appears on our screens, working on consumer programmes such as Watchdog and Your Money, Their Tricks.
Rebecca joined her late mother in campaigning for the laws on assisted dying to change, and as Dame Esther became too ill to speak on the issue, she took over from her mum.
Writing in The Telegraph just weeks before Esther passed away, Rebecca said: “I’m writing this from the bedside of my dying mother, Dame Esther Rantzen. She is too ill now to travel to Dignitas as she had planned and paid for.
“We can look back to a few months ago and see a moment when she could have made that journey, but at that time she was still able to relax and enjoy life at home with her family. Now she is suffering the pain and indignities she always feared she would endure, in the knowledge that it can only get worse and there is no one who can help her shorten this.”
Joshua Wilcox
Dame Esther’s youngest child is her son, Joshua, who has chosen to live his life out of the spotlight.
Joshua is a father of three, and speaking about becoming a grandmother to his children, Esther said: “So what gives me hope in the future — however long that is — is this sudden gift of grandchildren. I came quite late to the grandmother club. I was well into my 70s when my daughter Rebecca presented me with my first grandson, Benji.
“I’d spent years watching friends turning into gooey, sentimental grannies, forever showing me their latest photos and telling me anecdotes about the toddler geniuses in their family.”Leave a comment
