Esther Rantzen: The Story Behind Nicholas Winton on That's Life!
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Watch: Moment Esther Rantzen Reunites Man with Children He Saved from Nazi Occupation
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Figure caption: Esther Rantzen surprises Nicholas Winton on That's Life!
By Annabel Rackham, Culture Reporter
Published 30 September 2026
Dame Esther Rantzen, who has died at the age of 86, will perhaps be best remembered for presenting the BBC series That's Life! While the program ran for two decades, one episode in particular stands out for many.
She presented the hugely popular BBC One show from 1973 to 1994, drawing in huge audiences.
One of Dame Esther's most memorable career moments came during an episode in 1988—the footage of which has gone viral several times over in recent years.
Dame Esther Had Been Told the Story of Nicholas Winton...
Dame Esther had been told the story of Nicholas Winton, the man who had organised the rescue of 669 children from Czechoslovakia, which was occupied in 1939 by Nazi forces.
Sir Nicholas, born to German-Jewish parents, made a list of the children that needed sponsorship and found homes for them to go to in Britain. He worked alongside activists and humanitarians in Czechoslovakia to navigate complex political obstacles, such as getting children to Britain through the Netherlands, which had closed its borders to Jewish refugees.
Ultimately successful due to a House of Commons ruling on allowing young refugees in the country, which had been passed a couple of months before his rescue mission began.
With the help of his mother, he put photos of the children in British magazines like Picture Post to help find them homes and organised for hostels to take in some refugees too. He managed to raise money to cover travel for the children and provide them with essentials when they reached British soil.
...And Invited Him Onto That's Life!
His incredible work went largely unreported for nearly 50 years—until his wife found a scrapbook in their loft, which contained names of children he had rescued. It was given to Holocaust researchers, who helped track down some of the children he had helped.
Sir Nicholas' story became national news when he appeared on That's Life! in February 1988, and Dame Esther Rantzen told viewers about his story.
Speaking in February 2024, Dame Esther said when she first got in touch with Sir Nicholas, whom she called Nicky, she "congratulated him on his extraordinary achievement." She told The Radio Times he had expressed some disappointment about his efforts, commenting that "not enough" people had been saved.
"I was devastated that he felt he had failed. I wanted to prove to this extraordinary man that every life he had saved was precious," Dame Esther added.
She invited him onto That's Life, and during his first appearance, his scrapbook was shared with the audience, and two women he had saved as children—Vera Gissing and Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines—revealed their identities to him on TV. They were sitting either side of Sir Nicholas, who had no idea of the surprise—something Dame Esther recalled as "incredibly moving."
Lady Milena is one of the most well-recognized survivors of Sir Nicholas' remarkable efforts.