On Air Goll as Gaccan Simon Clarke & Phil Gawne | 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Esther Rantzen chooses Island for charity launch

The Isle of Man and some of its older residents have been chosen to test a new telephone helpline - and well known TV personality and Childline founder Esther Rantzen has been here to launch it.

It's called Silverline and aims to offer a friendly voice at the end of a line for elderly people feeling lonely or isolated.

Esther Rantzen is synonymous with Childline, the charity she set-up in 1986 to provide youngsters who were being abused or neglected with somewhere to turn for help.

This morning she outlined her vision for Silverline at the offices of SMP Partners in Douglas.

Esther says she chose the Isle of Man after being invited by local charities concerned about the lack of this kind of support for older Manx people:


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