Latest news with #RebeccaWilcox
Daily Mail
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Esther Rantzen's daughter forced to share pics of her cancer battle live on TV after 'disgusting' fake images of 85 year old are posted in hoax that left her 'appalled'
Dame Esther Rantzen 's daughter was forced to share pictures of her mother's cancer battle on TV after fake images of her were posted in an appalling hoax. TV presenter Rebecca Wilcox, 45, the second of the 85-year-old journalist's three children, spoke about the ordeal on today's episode of BBC One Morning Live. Her mother, known for presenting BBC magazine programme That's Life! from 1973 to 1994 and founding Childline, was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 2023. But Rebecca told presenters Gethin Jones, 47, and Kimberley Walsh, 43, fake news and images regarding her mother's health had recently circulated online. It included AI-generated pictures showing the broadcaster in hospital, headlines claiming she was in a coma and even a story reporting she had died. Rebecca was forced to go as far as to appear on Morning Live, alongside the show's Scam and Crime expert, Rav Wilding, 47, to debunk the false information. She first displayed the upsetting fake images of Dame Esther that had been generated and spread. The false pictures have upset the family so much that Rebecca warned her mother and sister, watching at home, to look away as they were shown on camera. Rebecca opened: 'I was just appalled by them...' Referring to one particular image, she said: 'That one, really, I hate. I think she's either supposed to be dead or in a coma and that's the one I think looks most like her. 'It's just an extraordinary thing to do, it's just a weird, horrible thing to do, she doesn't look like that.' And as Esther has been 'very private' about her battle with cancer, sharing it just with her family, many of her friends have not seen her for months, Rebecca explained: 'So, that's the first thing they're seeing, they think that's her. That's appalling. 'Even her grandchildren, I've had to warn my brother to tell his kids that these pictures are out there, that they're not real, that's not what she looks like... 'How dare somebody do this to anybody? And we're not the only ones it's been done to.' After denouncing the false images, Rebecca shared pictures of her mother's birthday party, which happened just days ago. Dame Esther looked happy with a massive smile, wearing a gorgeous yellow floral dress as she posed with her daughter and took a walk in her garden. It was a stark contrast to her frail appearance that was manufactured in the AI-generated images, Rebecca said: 'She looks incredible right now.' She showed both sets of images, real and fake, to demonstrate to viewers just how false the manufactured images of her mother are. 'I wanted you to see mum, looking well, and I'm really grateful to you guys for letting me show this side of her because I just want to put the record straight', she said. Kimberley dubbed the spread of the fake news 'disgusting', with Gethin labelling it an 'unnecessary stress on top of everything else'. Rebecca also pointed out how distressing the comments on these fake social media posts have been - even accusing the family of disseminating the images themselves. 'Some people accusing us of being obscene, "How dare we undermine the greatness of mum by showing these pictures?", "It's such an invasion of privacy", she quoted. 'But this was nothing to do with us. We wouldn't have done that, we would never have done that without her permission. They're not real pictures!' Rav agreed about how distressing such fake images are, warning of just how much false information there is out there. It is especially important to fight it, he said, as 52 per cent of people use social media as their primary news source, according to Ofcom. Rav explained: 'So, most people are going to believe what they see as being correct.' He advised: 'There are lots of things out there that are not to be trusted online and it's really just a reminder. 'It doesn't matter what you see pop up, you need to do some checks to make sure it is something that you can trust.' The expert told viewers what to look out for to spot false images, zooming in on details in the pictures of Dame Esther to show what he meant. He pointed out a piece of medical equipment with all the buttons overlapping and on top of each other and an IV drip with a number on the bag that just did not blend in. The image also showed a mattress that appeared to blend into the wall. Rav explained why these are signs of falsified images: 'AI struggles with the finer details within an image it's creating. It takes time, it does take time [to check].' Every social media platform has a quick, easy reporting function, which he advised viewers to use whenever they see any kind of false information or images. Rebecca's appearance on Morning Live comes after Dame Esther opened up about her heartbreaking final wish earlier this year in an update on her health. She expressed her deep desire to be reunited with her late husband Desmond Wilcox, who she lost to a heart attack in 2000 at the age of 69. The Childline founder spoke deeply about her lasting bond with Desmond, reflecting on the possibility of an afterlife where they could be together once again. She told The Times in April: 'If there is a heaven, it would be a very happy place. 'It's a lovely idea to meet Desmond again and all those I have loved and lost — my parents and grandparents, my close friends and family.' Rebecca's appearance on Morning Live comes after Dame Esther (pictured in 2020) opened up about her heartbreaking final wish earlier this year in an update on her health She expressed her deep desire to be reunited with her late husband Desmond Wilcox, who she lost to a heart attack in 2000 at the age of 69. Pictured: The couple together in 1999 Esther's relationship with Desmond began as an affair in 1968, when he was her head of department at the BBC. They married in 1977 and had three children, spending 30 years together until his death. Just a month before Esther revealed her heartbreaking final wish, her daughter Rebecca had revealed the cancer drug her mother was put on was no longer working. Last year, the star raved about an 'amazing' new drug which had delayed the spread of her cancer, telling The Sunday Times it had allowed her to plan ahead. But in March, Rebecca gave an update on her mother during an interview on 5 News, revealing the medication was no longer working. Host Julian Druker asked if the medication she was on 'was an improvement' only for an emotional Rebecca to admit: 'I really wish that was true but I don't think that's the case anymore.' Both Dame Esther and her daughter are advocates for legalising assisted dying in the UK, with a bill to this effect currently having its second reading in the House of Lords. Responding to news of delays to the bill, Rebecca explained: 'I just wish that people understood that all the assisted dying bill is, is choice for people that want it. 'All it is, is giving you peace of mind and that peace of mind, I cannot tell you how powerful that would be right now for my mum. 'I'm a witness to the trauma of uncertainty, to the trauma of stress around what is going to happen. 'The fact that she doesn't know how her death is going to happen, how the pain is going to progress, the exhaustion, the fatigue, what symptoms are going to come in. 'She is a person who has fought her whole life for other people, and she has no control now. 'Why can't we give people like my mum with a terminal diagnosis, with no other choice, some choice as to when and how and where they die?'
North Wales Chronicle
21-06-2025
- Politics
- North Wales Chronicle
Opponents of assisted dying vow to fight on as MPs back Bill
Ms Leadbeater's Bill passed what could be its final Commons hurdle by 23 votes, down from the majority of 55 it secured when MPs first voted on it in November. The Spen Valley MP declared 'thank goodness' after the result while Rebecca Wilcox, daughter of campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen, said it was 'wonderful' the result had come ahead of her mother's birthday. But opponents vowed to fight on against what they called a 'deeply flawed Bill'. A group of 27 Labour MPs who voted against the legislation said: 'We were elected to represent both of those groups and are still deeply concerned about the risks in this Bill of coercion of the old and discrimination against the disabled, people with anorexia and black, Asian and minority ethnic people, who we know do not receive equitable health care. 'As the Bill moves to the House of Lords it must receive the scrutiny that it needs. Not about the principles of assisted dying but its application in this deeply flawed Bill.' But Ms Leadbeater told the PA news agency she hoped there would be no 'funny games' in the Lords, as her Bill faces further tough hurdles in the upper chamber. She added: 'I would be upset to think that anybody was playing games with such an important and such an emotional issue.' Meanwhile, one of the leading opponents of the Bill, Conservative Danny Kruger, described its supporters as 'enemies', saying he felt 'like Evelyn Waugh at the time of the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939'. In a series of tweets on Friday night, the East Wiltshire MP accused assisted dying campaigners of being 'militant anti-Christians' who had failed to 'engage with the detail of the Bill'. He added: 'It's the revenge of the middle-aged against their dependents.' Ms Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End Of Life) Bill will now proceed to the House of Lords, where it will undergo further scrutiny before becoming law, should peers decide to back the legislation. But some peers have already spoken out against the legislation, with the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, saying they 'must oppose' the Bill as 'unworkable and unsafe'.
Leader Live
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Leader Live
Opponents of assisted dying vow to fight on as MPs back Bill
Ms Leadbeater's Bill passed what could be its final Commons hurdle by 23 votes, down from the majority of 55 it secured when MPs first voted on it in November. The Spen Valley MP declared 'thank goodness' after the result while Rebecca Wilcox, daughter of campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen, said it was 'wonderful' the result had come ahead of her mother's birthday. But opponents vowed to fight on against what they called a 'deeply flawed Bill'. A group of 27 Labour MPs who voted against the legislation said: 'We were elected to represent both of those groups and are still deeply concerned about the risks in this Bill of coercion of the old and discrimination against the disabled, people with anorexia and black, Asian and minority ethnic people, who we know do not receive equitable health care. 'As the Bill moves to the House of Lords it must receive the scrutiny that it needs. Not about the principles of assisted dying but its application in this deeply flawed Bill.' But Ms Leadbeater told the PA news agency she hoped there would be no 'funny games' in the Lords, as her Bill faces further tough hurdles in the upper chamber. She added: 'I would be upset to think that anybody was playing games with such an important and such an emotional issue.' Meanwhile, one of the leading opponents of the Bill, Conservative Danny Kruger, described its supporters as 'enemies', saying he felt 'like Evelyn Waugh at the time of the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939'. In a series of tweets on Friday night, the East Wiltshire MP accused assisted dying campaigners of being 'militant anti-Christians' who had failed to 'engage with the detail of the Bill'. He added: 'It's the revenge of the middle-aged against their dependents.' Ms Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End Of Life) Bill will now proceed to the House of Lords, where it will undergo further scrutiny before becoming law, should peers decide to back the legislation. But some peers have already spoken out against the legislation, with the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, saying they 'must oppose' the Bill as 'unworkable and unsafe'.
South Wales Guardian
21-06-2025
- Politics
- South Wales Guardian
Opponents of assisted dying vow to fight on as MPs back Bill
Ms Leadbeater's Bill passed what could be its final Commons hurdle by 23 votes, down from the majority of 55 it secured when MPs first voted on it in November. The Spen Valley MP declared 'thank goodness' after the result while Rebecca Wilcox, daughter of campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen, said it was 'wonderful' the result had come ahead of her mother's birthday. But opponents vowed to fight on against what they called a 'deeply flawed Bill'. A group of 27 Labour MPs who voted against the legislation said: 'We were elected to represent both of those groups and are still deeply concerned about the risks in this Bill of coercion of the old and discrimination against the disabled, people with anorexia and black, Asian and minority ethnic people, who we know do not receive equitable health care. 'As the Bill moves to the House of Lords it must receive the scrutiny that it needs. Not about the principles of assisted dying but its application in this deeply flawed Bill.' But Ms Leadbeater told the PA news agency she hoped there would be no 'funny games' in the Lords, as her Bill faces further tough hurdles in the upper chamber. She added: 'I would be upset to think that anybody was playing games with such an important and such an emotional issue.' Meanwhile, one of the leading opponents of the Bill, Conservative Danny Kruger, described its supporters as 'enemies', saying he felt 'like Evelyn Waugh at the time of the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939'. In a series of tweets on Friday night, the East Wiltshire MP accused assisted dying campaigners of being 'militant anti-Christians' who had failed to 'engage with the detail of the Bill'. He added: 'It's the revenge of the middle-aged against their dependents.' Ms Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End Of Life) Bill will now proceed to the House of Lords, where it will undergo further scrutiny before becoming law, should peers decide to back the legislation. But some peers have already spoken out against the legislation, with the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, saying they 'must oppose' the Bill as 'unworkable and unsafe'.
South Wales Argus
21-06-2025
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
Opponents of assisted dying vow to fight on as MPs back Bill
Ms Leadbeater's Bill passed what could be its final Commons hurdle by 23 votes, down from the majority of 55 it secured when MPs first voted on it in November. The Spen Valley MP declared 'thank goodness' after the result while Rebecca Wilcox, daughter of campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen, said it was 'wonderful' the result had come ahead of her mother's birthday. But opponents vowed to fight on against what they called a 'deeply flawed Bill'. A group of 27 Labour MPs who voted against the legislation said: 'We were elected to represent both of those groups and are still deeply concerned about the risks in this Bill of coercion of the old and discrimination against the disabled, people with anorexia and black, Asian and minority ethnic people, who we know do not receive equitable health care. 'As the Bill moves to the House of Lords it must receive the scrutiny that it needs. Not about the principles of assisted dying but its application in this deeply flawed Bill.' But Ms Leadbeater told the PA news agency she hoped there would be no 'funny games' in the Lords, as her Bill faces further tough hurdles in the upper chamber. She added: 'I would be upset to think that anybody was playing games with such an important and such an emotional issue.' Meanwhile, one of the leading opponents of the Bill, Conservative Danny Kruger, described its supporters as 'enemies', saying he felt 'like Evelyn Waugh at the time of the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939'. In a series of tweets on Friday night, the East Wiltshire MP accused assisted dying campaigners of being 'militant anti-Christians' who had failed to 'engage with the detail of the Bill'. He added: 'It's the revenge of the middle-aged against their dependents.' Ms Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End Of Life) Bill will now proceed to the House of Lords, where it will undergo further scrutiny before becoming law, should peers decide to back the legislation. But some peers have already spoken out against the legislation, with the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, saying they 'must oppose' the Bill as 'unworkable and unsafe'.
