BBC Radio host mortified after huge blunder with terminally ill Dame Esther Rantzen

BBC Radio 4 DJ Amol Rajan made a real clanger when interviewing Dame Esther Rantzen this morning.

The broadcaster was forced to apologise after a poor choice of words left him flustered – and Dame Esther chuckling awkwardly.

In January 2023, the That’s Life! presenter, 84, announced that she had been diagnosed with lung cancer, which had grown and spread just months later, prompting her to reflect on her mortality.

Today, she joined Amol on the airwaves but suffered some connection issues at the beginning of her call.

‘Dame Esther, good morning,’ Amol began, only to be met with silence.

‘Is Dame Esther Rantzen with us?’, he asked without thinking.

‘Yeah, I hope so!’, the journalist then joked in.

‘Oh God,’ Amol laughed, with Dame Esther adding: ‘I’m doing my best!’

‘Dear, dear, dear, dear… that was probably the worst question I’ve ever asked,’ confessed an embarrassed Amol.

‘Please forgive me,’ he begged. ‘I meant is the line working, it clearly very much is. I probably should start by asking how you are.’

It didn’t take long for a clip of the blunder to make its way to social media, with X user sellottie being the first to share it, writing: ‘Absolute howler from Amol Rajan just now to (terminally ill) Esther Rantzen’.

GethynJonesuk declared Amol’s mishap the ‘quote of the day’ as he introduced Dame Esther for a feature discussing assisted dying.

‘Laughing and crying at the same time’, added a_Troglodist, while MAurelius200 expressed sympathy for a ‘mortified’ Amol.

Other listeners went on to praise Dame Esther for how she spoke during the segment, with rogermosey writing: ‘Esther Rantzen’s arguments on assisted dying are moving and powerful, and I hope MPs support them.’

One added that it was ‘heartbreaking’ to hear her ‘beg for basic dignity’ live on air, while Amol’s ‘sensitive’ handling of the subject was also praised.

Dame Esther shared last December that she had joined the Dignitas assisted dying clinic in Switzerland.

Since, the presenter has been incredibly vocal about wanting to change the laws in the UK as, if she were to opt for assisted dying herself, her family could be vulnerable to prosecution should they accompany her to the clinic, facing 14 years in prison.

A petition for a debate on assisted dying backed by the BBC star gained 200,000 signatures and took place in Westminster on April 29.

Ahead of the debate, the Childline founder, who says she is living ‘scan to scan’, told Good Morning Britain that her dog had a ‘better’ death than her beloved family members.

‘We can offer our beloved pets a pain-free death but we can’t offer it to our beloved family,’ Dame Esther said.

Speaking about joining the Swiss clinic, Dame Esther explained: ‘If I knew it was going to be difficult for my family to witness, I would want to ask for help.’

She continued: ‘If I go to Switzerland, my family can’t come with me for fear of being interrogated by police.’

In February this year, Dame Esther detailed her ideal final moments before she dies and ascends to the ‘pearly gates’ to reunite with her late husband.

During an interview with LBC Radio, she said: ‘I’d like to fly off to Zurich with my nearest and dearest. Have a fantastic dinner the night before.

‘I’d love caviar, if possible, and the fact that it doesn’t always agree with me doesn’t matter, does it? 

‘I could even have champagne, which I’m deeply allergic to. Then the next day, go to this rather unappealing place where they do it.

‘Listen to a favourite piece of music, say goodbye to everybody. Tell them to cheer up.’