Childline show, 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. Viewers were asked if they would take part in the survey in an edition of "That's Life!". A helpline was opened after the programme so that any child currently suffering abuse could call for help. 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
Childline South Africa about children. Telephone calls are routed to the Childline office closest to the caller, where trained counsellors are available to provide assistance. Calls to the Crisis Line are free from South African telephone networks Telkom, Vodacom and CellC, with the exception of MTN. Counsellors are trained to deal with a wide variety of issues. Childline offered a free, online counselling service through the discontinued Mxit instant messaging application which was available to youth under the age of 21 years, as well as to adults with concerns about children. Initially trialled as a pilot project in 2009, the service quickly saw