Democracy has spoken ...now the hard work must begin'

DELIGHTED Dame Esther Rantzen has revealed she let out a cry of relief when history was made as MPs voted in favour of legalising assisted dying.

- Giles Sheldrick

The presenter and campaigner was too ill to witness the historic Commons debate in person so watched it unfold on TV.

She was hunkered down in her New Forest home, the retreat she shared with her beloved late husband Desmond Wilcox, who died a "slow and painful death" from heart disease in 2000.

The Hampshire property is where Dame Esther, 84, who has stage four lung cancer, wants to die - but current laws prevent her from doing so.

As the historic debate unfolded and the vote was read out in front of a packed chamber last week, nervous Dame Esther was full of relief. She said: "I was at home watching and shouting with relief when the result was announced.

"We have not yet scaled Everest...but the view this close is inspiring."

Although the landmark move will likely come too late for lifelong campaigner Dame Esther, her dogged determination to give those suffering terminal illnesses the right to an assisted death, with legal protection for their families, marks one of her finest victories.

Giving her first considered thoughts on the implications of last Friday's vote, Dame Esther said: "Democracy has spoken.

Now the hard work must begin, to put that crucial principle into practice, allowing terminally ill patients the choice to shorten their own deaths.