2026-10-12 /

Stars come out for Esther as Childline turns 40 at the BT Tower

Supporters, including Geri Halliwell-Horner, Natalie Dormer and Gwyneth Strong, gather to pay tribute to Dame Esther Rantzen a week after her death.

Rebecca Wilcox, Deputy President of Childline and Esther’s daughter, attended the event and talked about memories of her mother.
October marks 40 years since Esther founded Childline to provide free and confidential help and support for children and young people.
Since 1986 this service has delivered more than six million counselling sessions to those in need, many of whom had nowhere else to turn.

Supporters of Childline including Geri Halliwell-Horner, Natalie Dormer and Gwyneth Strong, came together on 7 October to remember Dame Esther Rantzen and to mark the 40th anniversary of the service she founded.

Around 80 guests were joined by NSPCC and Childline staff and volunteers at the BT Tower in Central London to pay tribute to Esther and the legacy to children and young people she leaves behind.

The event was also an opportunity to look to the future and how Childline continues to evolve to ensure it can provide the help children need for many years to come.

In the four decades since Childline was launched in October 1986 it's delivered more than six million counselling sessions to children and young people, many of whom had nowhere else to turn.

Esther was the architect and driving force of all this, turning the service into the UK-wide support system that today has 12 bases located across the four nations and has become a vital part of the NSPCC.

Chris Sherwood, NSPCC CEO, said:

“Esther was a unique, inspiring and truly remarkable woman. At Childline and the NSPCC we feel incredibly lucky she dedicated so much of her time and energy to ensuring there was always somewhere to turn and someone to talk to for children in need of help.

“Since Esther founded Childline in 1986 the service has provided free and confidential support to millions of young people all around the UK. It is now up to all of us at the charity to build on this incredible legacy and ensure Childline continues to be here for children long into the future.

“Last night was an opportunity for supporters, staff and volunteers of Childline to come together at the BT Tower to pay their own tribute to Esther, look back over the last 40 years and look forward to the next decade and beyond for the service.”

For the first decade Childline was in operation the top concern of children and young people reaching out to the service was physical and sexual abuse.

Over this period more than half of contacts were made from telephone boxes, with the rest coming via landlines.

One early caller to the service (a boy, aged 13) said:

“I’m being bullied. There is a boy waiting outside the phone box to get me. I’m so scared I thought I would call you to help. I will also call the police.”

The advance in technology and in particular the arrival of mobile phones revolutionised the world and transformed the way children and young people interact with Childline.

Now almost three quarters of contacts happen online, with practitioners and volunteers providing support via 121 chat and email. However, the famous 0800 1111 number, donated by BT, remains and continues to be available for those who still want to speak over the phone.

Over the decades the service has also seen a shift in the scale and nature of the problems facing children and young people.

Now a child reaches out to Childline every 45 seconds with the service delivering around 170,000 counselling sessions each year.

Mental and emotional health have become the dominant concerns with problems around family relationships also featuring prominently.

A recent contact which is reflective of this trend (a girl, aged 13) said:

“I have these phases of feeling completely numb or only feeling sadness. I haven’t spoken to anyone about it yet, except here right now. I’m thinking about speaking to a teacher, but would they even understand? I don’t want them to think I’m making excuses for why I’m struggling.”

In 2009 Childline became part of the NSPCC, and the service went from strength to strength with bases across the UK and around 1,000 active volunteers.

Geri Halliwell-Horner said:

“I first met Esther following the death of my dear friend George Michael in 2016. After George died, it was Esther who told me how much he had donated to Childline over the years and it blew me away.

“I wanted to continue George’s legacy and, after an encouraging conversation with Esther, approached the charity and soon became a Childline ambassador. I’m proud to have had the opportunity to work with volunteers and colleagues who help hundreds of thousands of children in need each year.

“I’ve been very fortunate to be friends with Esther for over a decade, and I know how proud she was of Childline. I think it is so important that we work to continue her legacy.

“Children and young people need us more than ever and I know Esther would want us to honour her work and continue the vital, important work that Childline does.”