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.

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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. Pictured: A real photo of Rebecca Wilcox, left, with her mother Dame Esther Rantzen, right

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TV presenter Rebecca Wilcox (pictured on Morning Live), 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

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Rebecca told presenters Gethin Jones, 47, and Kimberley Walsh, 43, fake news and images regarding her mother’s health had recently circulated online. Pictured: A fake, AI-generated image of Esther Rantzen

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.’

She first displayed the upsetting fake images of Dame Esther that had been generated and spread. Pictured: One of the false, AI-generated images of Esther

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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. Pictured: A fake, AI-generated image of Dame Esther

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.

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After denouncing the false images, Rebecca shared pictures of her mother’s birthday party, which happened just days ago. Pictured: A real image of Dame Esther’s birthday party, which was held in recent days

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Dame Esther looked happy with a massive smile as she took a walk in her garden. Pictured: A real image of Esther, taken on her recent birthday

‘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.

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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

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Rav (pictured) agreed about how distressing such fake images are, warning of just how much false information there is out there

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.’

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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

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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.

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The Childline founder spoke deeply about her lasting bond with Desmond (left), reflecting on the possibility of an afterlife where they could be together once again

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Both Dame Esther and her daughter (pictured together in 2015) are advocates for legalising assisted dying in the UK

‘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?’