That's Life

Kieran Prendiville, Esther Rantzen and Glyn Worsnip in 1976.

The consumer rights programme That’s Life first aired on 26 May 1973. It was created by John Lloyd and presented and produced by Esther Rantzen, developing the format of Braden's Week, on which both had worked. There was initial criticism of the show's mixture of the serious and the humorous but the programme was enormously popular and ran until 1994.

Rantzen’s co-presenters over the years included Glyn Worsnip, Kieran Prendiville, Chris Serle, Bill Buckley, Gavin Campbell, Paul Heiney and Adrian Mills. Humorous interludes of press cuttings, rude vegetables, funny poems or songs were provided by people including Cyril Fletcher, Richard Stilgoe and Victoria Wood.

That's Life was also one of the first programmes to make stars of the public in regular street interviews, in particular Annie Mizen, an outspoken elderly lady.

The heart of That's Life was as the consumer's champion, but it was also strong on child protection issues. In 1984 the case of Ben Hardwicke highlighted the need for more child organ transplants and led to a reduction in waiting lists. In 1986 Childline was established after a survey of viewers revealed the need for a national helpline for children in distress, and it continues to this day with Esther Rantzen as president.