BBC Radio host suffers mortifying blunder with Dame Esther Rantzen (Image: Getty)
Amol Rajan suffered a catastrophic blunder while interviewing Dame Esther Rantzen on Friday (October 4).
The broadcaster was forced to apologise after an embarrassing choice of words left him flustered. In January 2023, the That’s Life! presenter, 84, announced that she had been diagnosed with lung cancer, which soon spread months later, forming her to reflect on her mortality.
Today the TV vetern joined Amol on the airwaves for his afternoon show, but soon suffered some connection issues at the start of their call.
He began the interview saying: “Dame Esther, good morning” only to be met with complete silence. He quickly followed up with: “Is Dame Esther Rantzen with us?”
It was at this point that the journalist chuckled: “Yeah, I hope so!” as Amol laughed off the embarrassing comment. He admitted: “Oh God, I’m doing my best!
“Dear, dear, dear, dear… that was probably the worst question I’ve ever asked. 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 before the embarrassing clip spread across social media, with one user on X – formerly known as Twitter – chuckling: “Absolute howler from Amol Rajan just now to (terminally ill) Esther Rantzen.”
Another listener declared the presenter’s emarrassing blunder the “quote of the day” as he introduced Dame Esther for a feature discussing assisted dying.
A third chimed in with: “Laughing and crying at the same time #AssistedDying @BBCRadio4 gold moment ‘Is Esther Rantze still with us?’ #nationaltreasure @ERantzen.”
A fourth echoed: “‘Dame Esther, are you still with us?’ asks Amol Rajan on #r4today in an item on assisted suicide, when Esther Rantzen takes a second or two to respond to his first question. I really feel for both of them. Rantzen’s ‘Yes, I hope so’ was a good comeback, though.”
Meanwhile, other listeners went on to praise Dame Esther for how she spoke about the difficult subject on the show. One user commented: “Esther Rantzen’s arguments on assisted dying are moving and powerful, and I hope MP’s support them.”
Another added that it was “heartbreaking” to hear her “beg for basic dignity” live on air, while Amol’s “sensitive” handling of the topic was also praised.