'Proof talent and personality can prevail': Esther Rantzen praises 'flavour of the month' Alison Hammond

Dame Esther Rantzen has reflected on the difficulties of being a woman working in television and praised the likes of Alison Hammond for breaking down barriers.

The 83-year-old journalist and broadcaster has enjoyed a long and successful career in television spanning six decades, but says “older women are still invisible” in the industry.“My earliest appearance on TV was in a debate on whether women can read the news. I was for it. Where would the news be today without the brilliant women newsreaders? However, even today, older women are still invisible on television,” she said in an interview with the latest issue of Radio Times Magazine.

“And it’s not just men who dump them. Women themselves are just as much to blame for discriminating against wrinkles”.

Rantzen singled out Hammond as a recent exception to that rule.

The 49-year-old Birmingham-born personality has gone from starring on reality TV to try and clear “traumatising debt” to British daytime stardom on This Morning.

Last year, Hammond joined The Great British Bakeoff as a host and is now set to replace the late Paul O'Grady fronting ITV's For The Love Of Dogs.“The fact that Alison Hammond is flavour of the month proves that talent and personality can prevail. And Claudia Winkleman’s fringe does its bit for emancipation, too,” she added to the publication.

Last year, Dame Esther revealed that she had stage 4 lung cancer and issued a statement saying she had decided to go public with the diagnosis "because I find it difficult to skulk around various hospitals wearing an unconvincing disguise".

She has also since revealed that she has joined the controversial assisted-dying clinic Dignitas in Switzerland.