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

The former Countdown star says having witnessed her own mother’s death from cancer, it’s something she would consider as feels it’s more ‘dignified’
Getty Images
Tina Campbell22 August 2023
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

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.

Where There’s A Will There’s A Wake is available to listen to on all podcast platforms.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in