Dame Esther Rantzen can't wait to get her boiler serviced and plan her birthday party after having her second COVID-19 jab.
Dame Esther Rantzen
The former 'That's Life!' presenter - who turned 80 in June last year - had to put her milestone birthday plans on hold due to the pandemic, and now she's excited to make up for lost time.
She's quoted by the Daily Express newspaper as saying: "Having my second jab means that for the first time I can really start planning my next birthday party.
“I had to delay celebrating reaching 80 for a whole year so I can’t wait to picnic in my garden with all my grandchildren, which will be the best birthday celebration of all.
"I’m also going to book the man who told me my boiler needs servicing. At first I thought he was being personal but it turns out my boiler really does need servicing and now I feel confident letting him into my house to get it done.”
Esther - who set up ChildLine in 1986 and Silver Line for lonely pensioners eight years ago - got her second dose of the vaccine at Milford War Memorial Hospital in Lymington, and has urged everyone to get the jab when they can.
She added: "Silver Line callers often say their greatest dread is being carted off to intensive care units alone, and maybe even dying alone.
"Two small jabs in the arm and they will be protected from that nightmare. It’s the best way for us all to stay safe.”
Esther has kept busy during lockdown, using her time at home to brush up on her housekeeping skills.
She said: "The new thing for me - and it's shocking to admit it - is housework. I've never been good at it and I've always made things look worse after I've been sweeping and cleaning.
"So, I've learned how to wash my own car by hand, I've been ironing sheets and I've been washing kitchen floors, and it's been very good for me.
"It's a life skill that I should have acquired many years ago."
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