Tributes paid to broadcaster and campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen following her death at 86

Dame Esther Rantzen was "an inspirational individual" who was "quite a force" as a campaigner, according to the director of Childline, the children's helpline founded by the broadcaster in the 1980s.

"She inspired people, she energised people, she persuaded people," Shaun Friel told BBC Breakfast. "She had a great mind and she had obviously that natural journalistic ability."

Dame Esther, who died on Wednesday at the age of 86, was known for presenting BBC consumer show That's Life! for 21 years, and for campaigning on issues including child welfare and assisted dying.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham led the tributes, saying the veteran broadcaster had "changed countless lives".

BBC director general Matt Brittin also paid tribute to Dame Esther, describing her as a "legend of British broadcasting" whose contribution to public life was "immeasurable".

"Her warmth, spirit and fight for justice and action that we saw on our screens continued long after the programme ended, with a lifetime of campaigning where she changed the lives of millions," he said.

Fellow broadcaster and money saving expert Martin Lewis called Dame Esther an "inspiration" and a "pioneer" whose "impact and memory will long continue to shine".

Chris Sherwood, chief executive of the NSPCC, which runs Childline, said Dame Esther had gone to "exceptional lengths to ensure children and young people across the UK had somewhere to turn when they were in need of help".

Dame Esther set up the telephone helpline in 1986 after featuring a number of incidents of child abuse and neglect on That's Life! and realising that many children had nowhere to turn.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Friel said: "The legacy that Dame Esther created when she created Childline is something quite incredible. She changed how society looked upon children."

He added: "When she decided she had a vision or something had to be done or had to be changed, she was quite a force."

Childline merged with the NSPCC in 2006. In 2013, Dame Esther founded The Silver Line to help older people suffering from isolation and loneliness.

She also led campaigns on safety. organ donation and bullying, and later in life became a prominent campaigner for the legalisation of assisted dying.

She had been terminally ill with lung cancer. In 2023, she revealed she had joined Dignitas, the Swiss assisted dying clinic, but last month said she was now "too physically fragile to make the journey".

Burnham said he would "always admire the characteristic courage and openness with which she spoke about her illness, making us all think about the difficult questions we face at the end of life".

Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP who sponsored the assisted dying bill, told the BBC that Dame Esther was a "wonderful mix of strength and feistiness, but also really deep compassion and kindness" - and that she would continue to inspire campaigners.

Baroness Jan Royall, former leader of the House of Lords and a friend of Dame Esther, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Thursday that she was a "formidable" person.

"She was an extraordinary, compassionate woman, a passionate woman, and she brought about such change in our world, change for the better."

Baroness Royall added that Dame Esther had "a wicked sense of humour" and a "zest for life", which was the thing that "drove her to try and improve people's lives through Silver Line, Childline etc, but also with the assisted dying bill."

Davina McCall wrote on Instagram that Dame Esther had "made the world a better place, and inspired so many of us to do better and live life to its fullest."

The message accompanied a video of the former Big Brother host discussing how Dame Esther was an "inspiration to girls like me when we were growing up".

Presenter Amol Rajan said Dame Esther "changed the course of millions of lives" as he paid tribute, calling her "an inspirational, strong woman ahead of her time".

"Not bad for a bright, Hertfordshire girl born during the early stages of the Second World War."