ASSISTED DYING LAW WOULD BE A WONDERFUL PRESENT FOR MUM

DAME Esther Rantzen's daughter has urged MPs to grant her mother's birthday wish – by supporting the assisted dying bill tomorrow.

- Hanna Geissler

The crunch vote is two days before a milestone the TV star feared she would not see.

Rebecca Wilcox said: “It will be an absolutely wonderful 85th birthday present for my mother... and will give hope to thousands of terminally ill people. MPs, please... give us choice over our deaths.” Dame Esther recently revealed that a drug she was taking, following a terminal cancer diagnosis, had stopped working but said she was trying another treatment.

TV presenter Rebecca, 45, told the Daily Express that the passing of the bill would help people “for years to come”.

She appealed to readers: “Please help to grant this wish for everyone in the future who would benefit from a more compassionate law by writing to your MP and reminding them that the majority of the public supports this crucial change.

“MPs, please listen to those you represent and give us choice over our deaths.”

Asked yesterday about her mother’s health, Rebecca told Sky News that she was “coping”.

She explained: “This has been a long slog and we’re hoping that we can maybe have a rest this weekend, particularly as it is her birthday on Sunday.

“We are so grateful and so appreciative of all the time that we have with her, particularly as she turns 85 looking rather fabulous.”

Rebecca will join a major rally in London’s Parliament Square tomorrow morning.

Campaigners will show their support for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill ahead of its tense third reading.

The bill would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist.