Dame Esther Louise Rantzen DBE is an English journalist and television presenter, who presented the BBC television series That’s Life! for 21 years, from 1973 until 1994.
Esther Rantzen Mother: Who Is Katherine Flora?
Rantzen was born in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England, to Katherine Flora Rantzen (née Leverson, 1911–2005) and Henry Barnato Rantzen (1902–1992). Her family is Jewish. She has one younger sister, Priscilla N. Taylor.
Dame Esther Rantzen reveals today how her mother forced her to socialize with a family friend who molested her as a child.
The veteran broadcaster was sexually abused at the age of 15 but says her mother Katherine refused to accept she had been assaulted and saw no reason why the man, who had been like an uncle to her, should be shunned.
Recalling her ordeal on today’s Desert Island Discs, the 78-year-old tells presenter Lauren Laverne: ‘He was no blood relative. I can see him to this day. He used to call me bright eyes and he had one of those creepy smiles.
