‘Esther Rantzen changed my life’, says That’s Life! presenter

When TV presenter Bill Buckley was disowned by his parents after being outed as gay by a national newspaper, Dame Esther Rantzen decided to step in, writing them a “beautiful” letter in defence of her colleague.

“She absolutely changed my life… I will be eternally grateful,” he said. “We became great friends and we always stayed in touch.”

Tributes are being paid to Dame Esther, who presented the BBC’s That’s Life! for 21 years and founded the children’s charity Childline, following her death aged 86.

Buckley, from Sutton Coldfield, was 23 and working at Wolverhampton-based Express and Star when he joined her as a co-presenter on the television programme.

“She was possibly the toughest boss I ever had,” he said.

“I thought some of the blokes on the Star were quite hard going, but, nothing compared with her.

“You see, she was first in the office every morning, putting the lights on, last out at night turning the lights off.”