diff --git a/trafilatura/utils.py b/trafilatura/utils.py
index 16014be7..8b63b7f1 100644
--- a/trafilatura/utils.py
+++ b/trafilatura/utils.py
@@ -473,9 +473,12 @@ def is_last_element_in_cell(elem: _Element) -> bool:
         return False
 
     if elem.tag == "cell":
-        children = list(elem)
+        children = elem.getchildren()
         return not children or children[-1] == elem
     elif is_in_table_cell(elem):
-        children = list(elem.getparent())
+        parent = elem.getparent()
+        if parent is None:
+            return False
+        children = parent.getchildren()
         return not children or children[-1] == elem
     return False
\ No newline at end of file