Terminally-ill Esther Rantzen asked if she’s ‘with us’ in awkward radio blunder

BBC Radio 4’s Amol Rajan was left red-faced on-air this morning (4 October), when he accidentally asked teminally-ill Esther Rantzen if she was “still with us”. The campaigner was due to do a phone interview on the station, but didn’t appear to be answering the host. “Is Dame Esther Rantzen with us?”, Rajan prompted. “I hope so! I’m doing my best!”, she quipped back, before the presenter quickly acknowledged it was “the worst question he’s ever asked”. Esther Rantzen is currently battling stage 4 lung cancer.