If there is an immediate serious concern for someone's welfare or they are worried a child's life is in danger, notes may be passed on to relevant bodies, including the Police and the NHS.

[4] In 1986 Esther Rantzen, presenter of consumer television show That's Life!, suggested to the BBC that they create "Childwatch", a programme about child abuse that was screened on 30 October 1986 on BBC1, the aim being to try to detect children at risk before their lives were in danger.

Rantzen, together with her BBC producers Sarah Caplin and Ritchie Cogan, therefore suggested they should create a helpline specifically for children in danger or distress, to be open throughout the year, 24/7, and launch it on the programme.

Childline joined the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) in February 2006, and extra resources were pledged in an attempt to ensure that no child's call goes unanswered.

[6] Childline has 12 counselling centres around the UK and one home based team, staffed largely by volunteers.

Counsellors in the virtual base answer emails sent by children and young people from their Childline accounts from their own home.

[19] Young people can also contact Childline through their website, via 1-2-1 counsellor chat, SignVideo, Ask Sam and the 'write an email' feature.