The former journalist and TV presenter died surrounded by family at her home in the New Forest, a spokesperson confirmed.
She became known for hosting shows such as That's Life!, establishing charities to help the young and old, and in recent years, becoming a prominent voice in the attempt to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales.
Dame Esther was "the most wonderful mother", a "cherished grandmother", and someone who will be remembered for "her endless capacity for joy", her family said in a statement paying tribute.
Dame Esther hosted BBC consumer affairs show That's Life! for 21 years from 1973 to 1994, which led to her setting up Childline in 1986, to provide counselling services for young people.
She later launched The Silver Line in 2012, which aims to tackle loneliness in older people.
In later life, Dame Esther became a strong proponent for assisted dying, after she was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in 2023, talking openly about doing it and condemning the "messy and cruel" law in England and Wales which would criminalise loved ones who tried to help.
But in September 2026, ahead of a vote by MPs which would see efforts to legalise assisted dying defeated in Parliament, she shared that it was now too late for her to travel [to Dignitas in Switzerland], as she had become "too physically fragile to make the journey".
When the assisted dying Bill fell, she called it a "tragic day".
She became known to TV audiences as the host of the BBC's long-running That's Life!, a consumer affairs magazine show with an often satirical edge that she helped create.
It became one of the most popular programmes on British television, expanding the traditional role of the consumer programme to investigating life-and-death issues, such as a boarding school employing paedophiles and a nationwide shortage of organ donors.
In the mid-1980s, she founded Childline, a helpline for children in danger or distress, after a temporary helpline open for viewers impacted by a programme about a toddler who had starved to death was swamped with callers.
The calls mainly came from children suffering sexual abuse they had never been able to disclose to anyone else, giving Dame Esther the idea for a specific helpline for children, open 24/7 throughout the year.
In a statement, her children Miriam, Rebecca and Joshua Wilcox said: "Her legacy of compassion and understanding will live on in her charities Childline and the Silverline, and through those of us who were lucky enough to love and be loved by her.
"We are grateful she is finally at rest with her beloved husband, Desmond Wilcox, but we will miss her immeasurably. She was our sunshine.
"We will always remember her endless capacity for joy, her ability to comfort every heartache, her beautiful way with words and her expert guidance in all things.
"She was the most wonderful mother to us three children and a cherished grandmother to her five treasured grandchildren. We have been so lucky for so long; no matter how much time we had with Mum, it could never be enough, but we are so grateful for our lives together.
"Mum's work with charities and campaigning, particularly for children, older people, and the terminally ill, meant the world to her, so thank you to everyone who has written to her, shared their stories with her over the years and worked alongside her.
"We hope the humour, ingenuity and audacity she brought to her work may continue to inspire you as it will do us."
Many of those who knew and worked with her have paid tribute, with Prime Minister Andy Burnham saying she "changed countless lives and gave a voice to people who often went unheard".
NSPCC chief executive Chris Sherwood said she left an "extraordinary legacy" having "helped millions of children" by founding Childline.
TV host Lorraine Kelly, writing on Instagram, called her "funny, forthright and fabulous", adding Dame Esther "helped so many people".
Singer and actress Dame Elaine Paige posted a picture of the pair together on Instagram, calling her "a great broadcaster, journalist and campaigner".
The campaign group Dignity in Dying called Dame Esther "a true force of nature whose compassion, tenacity and wit will be greatly missed".
Age UK chief executive Paul Farmer said that through the Silver Line, she "helped to support thousands of lonely older people, making sure they have someone to talk to whenever they might need it".
Comedian Rory Bremner said on X that That's Life! was "groundbreaking" and Dame Esther "a truly unique and powerful broadcaster".
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater - who led an attempt to legalise assisted dying - called Dame Esther "a strong, warm and compassionate woman and a fighter to the end".
The Board of Deputies of British Jews described her as a "Jewish national treasure", recalling a moment when she "reunited the kindertransport hero Sir Nicholas Winton with the Holocaust refugees he rescued" on a TV programme.
Etihad released a statement on Wednesday, which criticised the Premier League for the way its findings were presented.
City were found guilty by an independent commission of all charges related to "serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules over a nine-season period".
The club were also found guilty on the "majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the league's investigation".
Etihad rejected "any implication that suggests the airline has ever been involved in improper commercial arrangements".
Declaring that "we stand with the club", Etihad said it would "seek the relevant legal counsel on the options and recourse available to protect its interests".
The statement said: "The Premier League's public communication of the commission's findings, following a period of selective leaks and reporting, has further created damaging implications for Etihad despite the airline not being named in the redacted published findings.
"At no time did the Premier League reach out to or engage with Etihad in the process associated with the commission's opinion.
"Etihad was therefore never given the opportunity by the Premier League to be represented, to provide relevant information, or to ensure the accuracy and fairness of information relied upon in reaching conclusions that may now be interpreted as reflecting adversely on the airline."
A spokesperson for Etihad added: "Etihad is deeply concerned by the way this matter has been communicated publicly.
"The lack of clarity and transparency, together with the selective disclosure of information, has created damaging implications for Etihad despite the airline not being named in the published decision."
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The Premier League published a statement saying City were guilty of almost all of the 115 charges levelled against the Abu Dhabi-controlled club for alleged breaches of financial rules over many years.
The fallout from the biggest scandal in the league's history could see the club, which has dominated English football for a decade, face a punishment that could be as severe as expulsion from the league.
City were accused of failing to provide accurate financial information over a nine-year period, and failing to co-operate with Premier League investigations, following a leak of club documents in 2018.
The Premier League said City's conduct amounted to "extremely serious, significant, sustained and intentional or reckless breaches" of its rules "critical to the proper and fair operation" of the league.
City rejected the verdict and promised a relentless campaign to clear their name, and the club has the right to appeal.
The club could also face possible compensation claims from rival teams if the guilty verdicts are upheld.
The Home Office said in a statement on Wednesday that the deal is "no longer processing new cases", adding "we continue to work with France to relentlessly tackle small boat crossings, and we've made real progress".
Under the plan, migrants arriving in the UK after making the trip across the Channel, could be detained and returned to France in exchange for an equivalent number of asylum seekers who applied through a safe and legal route.
Around 1,500 individuals were sent back to France and a similar number transferred to the UK as part of the scheme, which, though set up to last three years, had a clause allowing the parties to end it earlier.
Deportation flights will continue in the coming weeks for those who have already been detained, the Home Office said.
The discontinuation of the deal follows a sharp fall in the number of people making the crossing in 2026 to a five-year low for a variety of reasons, including increased police patrols and enhanced surveillance in northern France.
The roughly 19,000 who have made the crossing this year is a 40% drop compared to this point in 2025.
The danger of crossings was illustrated Monday when a 10-year-old child and two women died, apparently trampled to death on a boat packed with more than 100 people.
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Cooperation on stopping the boats stalled after the UK's split from the European Union in 2020, but in the past few years the UK and France have struck several agreements to get a grip on the issue.
Small boat crossings have become a potent political issue in the UK in recent years.
Anger at the seeming inability of successive governments to get a handle on the issue has been behind a series of demonstrations and riots and has fueled the rise of Reform UK.
Patricia Marquis, executive director of Royal College of Nursing (RCN) England, said the organisation seeks to balance the views of its 600,000-strong membership, which she claimed is "pretty reflective of society" and has "a range of views on many issues".
Ms Marquis was giving evidence in Dundee on Wednesday in Sandie Peggie's employment tribunal against the RCN union, in what is expected to be the final day of evidence.
Ms Peggie previously brought a case against NHS Fife after sharing a changing room with transgender medic Dr Beth Upton at Kirkcaldy's Victoria Hospital in December 2023.
In December 2025, the tribunal awarded Ms Peggie a partial victory, upholding claims of harassment against her employer, but dismissing allegations of discrimination, indirect discrimination and victimisation.
Ms Peggie claims the RCN failed to adequately support her in the dispute with the health board, and is seeking a finding that the union discriminated against her because of her gender-critical and sex realist beliefs.
The RCN denies the claims.
RCN lawyer David Hay KC asked Ms Marquis about the union's view on the "dichotomy" between gender ideology and gender-critical views.
He queried: "To what extent does the RCN have any particular position on the debate between concepts of gender ideology as opposed to biological sex?"
She replied: "We have no position on those two concepts."
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Ms Peggie's barrister Naomi Cunningham highlighted a number of examples of how she claimed the RCN had "picked a side" on the issue by adopting gender ideology.
She said the RCN sold badges featuring its logo and the Pride flag, which Ms Marquis agreed is "strongly associated with gender ideology".
Ms Cunningham asked why, if the RCN was neutral on the issue, there were no RCN-branded badges expressing support for those with gender-critical beliefs - for example, she said, featuring the suffragette colours of purple, white and green.
"There is nothing here that supports any other beliefs," Ms Cunningham said, looking at a page of RCN merchandise.
The witness denied this was evidence the RCN was "taking sides", and insisted the Pride badges were simply "expressing support for members who identify in different ways".
Ms Marquis claimed the organisation's use of Pride insignia, such as on merchandise or flags, was "absolutely" not intended to exclude anyone.
Ms Cunningham went on to ask about the RCN's response to the 2025 Supreme Court ruling that sex in the 2010 Equalities Act referred to biological sex.
The lawyer said one statement attributed to Ms Marquis, which was included in an announcement of an engagement session for RCN members soon after the ruling, was "mournful in tone".
She said it presented the ruling as "bad news" that may be "upsetting" or concerning for members, with no acknowledgement that some RCN members may have been "rejoicing" at it.
Ms Marques said it was "not the intention" to present the ruling in a negative light, but agreed the statement did not refer to those members who may have welcomed it.
Ms Cunningham also pressed Ms Marques on a particular line in the statement, which read: "Let me be clear - the RCN stands in support with our LGBTQIA+ members."
She asked what the "+" in the acronym meant, with Ms Marquis replying it represented "people identifying in different ways".
Ms Cunningham put it to her that "it is a bit worrying" to express support for "a group whose parameters you really can't define".
The tribunal is taking place before judge Melanie Sangster.
Jackson Duke, 17, and Luke Etheridge and Zara Shaw, who were both 16, were in a car that plunged into the river near Wearmouth Bridge on Tuesday, Northumbria Police said.
The two boys were from the Sunderland area, while Zara was from Houghton-le-Spring and their next of kin are being supported by officers, the force said on Wednesday.
Shortly before 1.30pm, police received reports from the public that a black Audi A3 had careered off the road at Panns Bank, before entering the water.
Police said investigations into what led up to the car entering the water are ongoing, with inquiries at an early stage, but added no other vehicles are believed to have been involved.
A 17-year-old boy who was also in the car "reached safety" having suffered minor injuries, the force said.
He has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and remains in police custody.
Inquiries to establish who was driving at the time are ongoing, the force added.
Chief Supt Scott Cowie, Area Commander for Sunderland, said: "First and foremost, our thoughts remain with the family and friends of the teenagers who have tragically lost their lives.
"The last 24 hours have brought unimaginable agony and heartbreak for the loved ones of Luke, Jackson and Zara.
"All three had their whole futures ahead of them and will be hugely missed.
"I know the wider community will want to join me in offering their families our heartfelt condolences at this devastating time.
"We will do everything we can to support them, and would continue to ask for their privacy to be respected.
"We also recognise the impact that this tragedy has had upon the people of Sunderland and further afield, and know that you will continue to be there for one another."
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He added: "The investigation into the circumstances leading to the car entering the water remains ongoing.
"We would continue to ask members of the public not to speculate about the incident both on social media and in the community.
"In doing so, please be mindful of the potential impact such commentary could have on the families of those involved in this incident."