treatment

DAME Esther Rantzen has shared a heartbreaking health update after stopping treatment for lung cancer.

The veteran TV star, 85, was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in January 2023 and had been undergoing experimental medication, though is no longer receiving any treatment.

She had previously joined a Swiss assisted dying clinic, Dignitas, in late 2023, stating her desire for a peaceful death if her treatment failed.

She has now revealed in a heartbreaking health update that she is celebrating Christmas early this year in case she doesn’t make the actual day.

Speaking to The Times, she said: “This year I am planning an ‘official’ Christmas with my children and five grandchildren, slightly ahead of the real Christmas so that there will be more chance that I am actually alive to enjoy it with them.

“Although I live alone, Rebecca (her daughter) will come and decorate the house beautifully, as she has done every year with all my old baubles and bits of tinsel.”

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ESTHER’S FIGHT

Terminally ill TV legend Dame Esther Rantzen shares sad health update

LEGEND’S BATTLE

Dame Esther Rantzen too ill to attend Westminster debate on assisted dying

In the candid interview, Dame Esther said: “When I was diagnosed with lung cancer in January 2023, I did not expect to last until the next Christmas, so the fact that I am still here and looking forward to this one is a wonderful surprise.”

She then revealed how she is no longer receiving treatment, and her cancers are progressing.

“Right now I am not receiving any treatment, which was my doctor’s decision, as the side-effects outweigh the benefits,” she explained.

“So the cancers are progressing but, according to my most recent scan, very slowly.

“Incidentally, I have also discovered a mental health issue I never expected, scanxiety,” she added.

Dame Esther went on to explain: “Since I have no idea what is actually happening inside my own body, but every scan, every three or four months, carries with it the possibility of bad news, as the date approaches my anxiety levels rise — and we cancer patients have christened it scanxiety.”

She also revealed her “great hope” for the coming year, and what she would really want to happen.

“My great hope for 2026, which I do not expect to survive long enough to witness, is the final passing of the Assisted Dying Bill through all its stages in parliament,” she said.

Dame Esther is a big supporter of the Assisted Dying Bill, which narrowly passed through Parliament back in June.

At the time of the Bill passing through the House of Commons in June 2025, Dame Esther said the terminally ill are “truly voiceless” and face an “agonising death” – adding: “This is a crucial debate for the truly voiceless.”

She went on to say: “They are the terminally ill adults for whom life has become unbearable and who need assistance, not to shorten their lives but to shorten an agonising death – and their loved ones who under the current law will be accused of committing a crime if they try to assist or even stay alongside to say goodbye.”

Dame Esther also spoke about how she is in the midst of planning her memorial service, in her most recent interview this weekend.

She said how it is “quite fun to put together” as she is ruthless about asking favours from friends.

“Fortunately I have friends who are wonderful readers, Tom Conti, for instance, and Imelda Staunton and Judi Dench.

“It’s going to be quite an event!

“Pity I can’t be there myself,” she added.

Dame Esther previously questioned whether her stage four lung cancer might have been caused by exposure to asbestos at the BBC’s Lime Grove Studios in West London, where she filmed That’s Life! for 21 years.

Speaking to The Times in 2023, Dame Esther said: “Some time in the late-Eighties or early-Nineties, workmen wearing white spacesuits arrived to take down walls and ceilings along the corridors where I wrote our scripts to remove the asbestos.

“This did not surprise any of us since my team had called our route to the canteen ‘asbestos alley’.”

A French court rejected all claims brought by UFC-Que Choisir against Perrier, after the consumer group claimed the firm’s natural mineral water was deceptively labelled.

In early June, UFC-Que Choisir filed an emergency motion with a court in Nanterre near Paris seeking a recall of all Perrier bottles in circulation, as well as a temporary ban on sales of the natural mineral water.

The case centred on a dispute over the use of a filtration treatment, which the group said was contrary to French and European law. UFC-Que Choisir also claimed that the water posed health risks.

UFC-Que Choisir insisted that its demands would not have caused Perrier’s Vergèze plant to close, but it hoped that the bottles produced there would be sold as drinking water and not natural mineral water.

The consumer group noted that natural mineral water typically sells for 100 to 300 times the price of tap water.

Nestlé says decision proves Perrier’s food safety is ‘guaranteed’

The court in Nanterre said a health risk to consumers was not proven to the level required for an emergency ruling, a ruling welcomed by Nestlé.

“Today’s decision confirms that the food safety of Perrier natural mineral waters has always been guaranteed”, it said.

The company said it operates under an integrated quality management system, shared with, and controlled by, the relevant authorities to ensure the food safety of all its products.

“The results of our analyses are constantly shared with the authorities who regularly test our mineral waters, both at source and the finished product, to confirm compliance with the applicable regulatory requirements, including food safety and quality standards.”

UFC-Que Choisir must pay €5,000 to Nestlé, according to a court statement.

The Nanterre ruling was the latest twist in a series of scandals hounding Nestlé in France.

In a 2024 report, the Occitanie Regional Health Agency (ARS) warned of the possibility of halting Perrier production because of persistent bacterial contaminationin water drawn from wells at the Vergèze plant.

An inquiry commissioned by France’s Senate then found that the French government had covered up the use of illegal water treatments for years, particularly with regard to Nestlé.

Nestlé said it has since stopped using these prohibited treatments, instead switching to its current filtration methods.

“For me to be thrown out first is nothing short of despicable, and I think they have covered themselves in a huge embarrassment by treating me with such disrespect,” Murphy told ITV.

“I always pride myself on conducting myself as professionally as I can, try to treat the game with an incredible amount of respect.

“There are three other players in this tournament who weren’t even in China last week. The way I have been treated by Matchroom in this tournament is nothing short of despicable.”

In response, Matchroom said it spoke to Murphy afterwards and “share his frustrations”.

A statement read: “Our priorities are the players, we take pride in the fact they consider this event prestigious and want to prepare for it.

“For transparency and fairness, the groups [for the draw] are based on seeding. Scheduling is always a challenge every year, but we take on board the points and always strive to improve for next year and the future.”

Lei, ranked 31st in the world, opened up a two-frame lead before Murphy reduced the deficit.

However, Lei responded with a break of 61 to take the fourth frame with Murphy unable to respond in the fifth.

Meanwhile, England’s Judd Trump booked his place in the quarter-finals with a 4-1 win over Bai Yulu of China.

Reigning women’s world champion Bai, 22, won the opening frame of the first meeting between the players.

But men’s world number one Trump held his nerve to win the next two frames with breaks of 84 and 71, to secure a quarter-final meeting with Murphy’s conquerer Lei.

Italy is welcoming 19 children who were evacuated from Gaza by the World Health Organization. They’ll receive advanced medical treatment in several hospitals across the country.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV has called for “deep reflection” in the United States about the treatment of migrants held in detention, saying that “many people who have lived for years and years and years, never causing problems, have been deeply affected by what is going on right now.”

The Chicago-born pope was responding Tuesday to a variety of geopolitical questions from reporters outside the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo, including what kind of spiritual rights migrants in U.S. custody should have, U.S. military attacks on suspected drug traffickers off Venezuela and the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East.

Leo underlined that scripture emphasizes the question that will be posed at the end of the world: “How did you receive the foreigner, did you receive him and welcome him, or not? I think there is a deep reflection that needs to be made about what is happening.”

He said “the spiritual rights of people who have been detained should also be considered,’’ and he called on authorities to allow pastoral workers access to the detained migrants. “Many times they’ve been separated from their families. No one knows what’s happening, but their own spiritual needs should be attended to,’’ Leo said.

Leo last month urged labor union leaders visiting from Chicago to advocate for immigrants and welcome minorities into their ranks.

Asked about the lethal attacks on suspected drug traffickers off Venezuela, the pontiff said the military action was “increasing tension,’’ noting that they were coming even closer to the coastline.

“The thing is to seek dialogue,’’ the pope said.

On the Middle East, Leo acknowledged that the first phase of the peace accord between Israel and Hamas remains “very fragile,’’ and said that the parties need to find a way forward on future governance “and how you can guarantee the rights of all peoples.’’

Asked about Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, the pope described the settlement issue as “complex,’’ adding: “Israel has said one thing, then it’s done another sometimes. We need to try to work together for justice for all peoples.’’

Pope Leo will receive Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the Vatican on Thursday. At the end of November he will make his first trip as Pope to Turkey and Lebanon.

Ofcom has received more than 100 complaints from Married At First Sight viewers over the way groom Ashley was treated during his time on the hit E4 reality series

Ofcom has received more than 100 complaints from Married At First Sight fans over the way a groom was treated. Earlier in this series of the hit E4 reality show. viewers watched as midwife Grace ‘tied the knot’ with Ashley but she was visibly not very keen from the start.

The couple made it past the initial wedding stage of the experiment, but various issues kept cropping up as they tried to embark on their new relationship and it all ended after one final argument that took place at a dinner party.

She added: “I expect you to act like a grown man capable of self-control. Sponsored by Canesten Duo.” The pair have been notably absent at various points within the series, and in the end, Ashley removed his wedding band when he decided that ‘couldn’t do anymore‘ for her without her taking issue with it as she accused him of ‘twisting’ everything.

READ MORE: Married at First Sight UK’s Ashley issues statement after sparking romance rumoursREAD MORE: Married At First Sight UK’s Grace takes brutal swipe at Ashley as fans express concern

But viewers have taken issue with the way that experts Mel Schilling, Paul C Brunson and Charlene Douglas seemingly enabled Grace’s behaviour during her time on camera. A spokesperson for Ofcom confirmed: “Complaints related to the experts allegedly enabling Grace’s treatment of Ashley.” In total, the regulator received 166 complaints from angry viewers.

It comes just one day after Grace took to social media to hit out at her ex regarding their final argument. She said: “I expect you to accept no for an answer. I expect you to prioritise my discomfort over your desire for sex. I expect you to act like a grown man capable of self-control. Sponsored by Canesten Duo.”

Things went from bad to worse for the couple during Wife Swap week, when Ashley admitted that he was ‘happier’ when his bride was not around. On the verge of tears, he explained: “I’d hate to hurt Grace’s feelings. I just feel like I can’t give any more to this. So I have to be selfish and put myself first. Grace then admitted: “I would have really liked if this had worked out I think we recognise now there was never anyway it was going to (work). But yeah, you do know that deep down.”

When viewers first met Ashley and Grace, she refused to accept a kiss on the lips when they were pronounced as husband and wife. Things got even more heated between the pair at the dinner following the wedding, when Ashley admitted that he had been raised with ‘old-fashioned’ morals and believed that a man should be the breadwinner. Grace was visibly shocked at this revelation, and in a confessional, she fumed: “God, here we go!”

Later on, Grace’s friend Georgina interrogated Ashley over his outlook on life and when he suggested he was not necessarily a feminist, she raged that someone like that was not going to be a match for Grace.

She said: “My advice was, she wants to know you respect her.” She then relayed her concerns to Grace, but insisted she had managed to warm to Ashley by explaining to him just what she thought a feminist was. This whole scene did not go down well with some viewers either, with one writing: “Grace & her friends seem like the type to bring about their own misery,” and another slamming it as the ‘most insufferable conversation’ they had ever heard.

Viewers will have to wait to see just how things pan out between Ashley and Grace on the next episode, but the trailer for next week teased that things might not be looking so good.

In a short clip, Grace raged: “Every now and then he says something, and it’s like ‘Do you know how that sounds?!'”

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