The Shift
Show notes
Childline answers a child every 45 seconds. Natalie Dormer goes inside a Childline shift to meet the Volunteer Counsellors who listen, from the morning briefing to the high-risk hours of the Night Service.
Among them is Matt, who wrote to Childline as a frightened ten-year-old and treasured the reply so much he became a Counsellor himself, and Rebecca Wilcox, Deputy President of Childline and Dame Esther Rantzen's daughter, who trained as a Counsellor to carry on her mother's legacy. We learn what twelve weeks of training teaches, and hear about the counselling sessions that stay with Counsellors long after they've gone home. We meet Rosa, who at seven stood outside a phone box with the number memorised but never picked up, because nobody had told her Childline wouldn't automatically report to the police. And we learn about the power of Childline's unique confidentiality promise, which it constantly reviews and fights to keep. Plus, the NSPCC Volunteers visiting primary schools nationwide to make sure children know the Childline number and how to recognise abuse.
Trigger warnings: Suicide or suicidal ideation: 19:00–20:50 Sexual abuse and physical harm: 21:25–23:55
If you need support: Childline (for children and young people under 19): 0800 11 11 · childline.org.uk NSPCC Helpline (for adults worried about a child): 0808 800 5000 · nspcc.org.uk NAPAC (for adults abused as children): 0808 801 0331 · napac.org.uk Samaritans (for anyone, 24 hours a day): 116 123 · samaritans.org Internet Watch Foundation (report child sexual abuse images or videos, anonymously; under 18? Use Report Remove on childline.org.uk): iwf.org.uk CSA Centre (research, data and resources for anyone working with children): csacentre.org.uk
Credits: Hosted, exec produced and co-written by Natalie Dormer Production, interviews and sound design by Phoebe McIndoe Theme and additional composition by Gary Hickeson Operations, marketing and distribution managed by Helen Parker Special thanks to OG Podcasts & Quercine Ltd An independent Dog Rose production, supported by the NSPCC, with special thanks to Sarah Pickstone and the team © 2026 Dog Rose Productions