Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Tina Campbell

Carol Vorderman thinks legalised euthanasia ‘should be discussed’ in UK

Carol Vorderman has called for a discussion about making euthanasia legal in the UK.

Euthanasia is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering of those who are typically terminally ill or in an irrversible coma.

It is currently illegal in the UK, but different countries have different laws around it.

As of 2023, euthanasia is legal in Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal (awaiting regulation), Spain and Australia.

The former Countdown star, 62, shared her own thoughts on it while a guest on the latest episode of Kathy Burke’s Where There’s A Will, There’s A Wake podcast.

Carol Vorderman opened up on the controversial subject while a guest on Kathy Burke’s Where There’s A Will, There’s A Wake podcast (Sony Music)

The controversial subject came up because Voderman’s brother lives in Holland where euthanasia is legal and he had told her about a terminally ill friend who had decided to go down that route.

“My brother’s lived in Holland for a long time, and he said to me last year, ‘oh, I’m over in Amsterdam on Tuesday […] because we’re going to Dave’s funeral’. Now, Dave was his friend who’d worked at Shell all around the world. [Dave] was an engineer and [my brother] said ‘we’re having a party’, she explained to Burke.

“[I said,] ‘What?’ He said, ‘So we’re all gathering, all these people we’re going to have a party with Dave’. I said, ‘what do you mean?’ [And] Euthanasia is allowed [in Holland], right? And [Dave] had terminal cancer and had decided that [he wanted Euthanasia]. So, they had the party [and] the next day, Dave died.

“The same people then went [to the funeral]. I thought, ‘how dignified and wonderful that was’.”

Burke agreed that it sounded a more dignified way to go, with Vorderman then admitting that she would consider it herself if in a silmilar position, especially having withnessed the death of her beloved mum Jean in 2017 after her fourth battle with cancer.

Carol Vorderman spoke about the impact of watching her beloved mum Jean (pictured to her left) die from cancer had on her (Twitter @carolvorders)

“It really made me think a lot about [how] I would want similar, to be perfectly honest,” she said. “You know, not joking about it, having seen my mum’s last breath... I just thought that was very dignified.”

Burke suggested “I think it’s something we need to look into more and more, in this country.”

“It’s not allowed here,” confirmed Voderman.

“It’s not allowed,” echoed Burke, “And I sort of understand the reasons as well, why people are so nervous of it. You know, but it should be brought up again and again.”

“I do. I think it is something that should be discussed,” concluded Vorderman.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.