Basil Brush helps children in lockdown

Charities like the NSPCC and its Childline service have counselled thousands of children struggling to cope with the current situation. At the same time, schools are trying to find ways to help children continue their learning at home.

An unlikely celebrity pairing and a new initiative with a friendly fox at the helm is specifically targeted to help.

Children’s book author Martin Roberts has enlisted the support of children’s entertainer and all round good fox, Basil Brush, to create a charming narrated and partially animated version of Sadsville, a magical and whimsical illustrated book with a wellbeing self-help guide and details of how to contact Childline. The recording, made in support of the invaluable work of the NSPCC and Childline, has just been released on YouTube for general viewing, and is also being sent with an accompanying home study pack free to all primary schools in the UK.

Peter Wanless, CEO of the NSPCC, said: “Currently, we are hearing from children in their thousands who have been cut off from vital support networks such as school and friends, and that has increased their feelings of loneliness and vulnerability. Using Basil Brush to narrate Sadsville is a unique and entertaining approach to letting even more children know how they can contact Childline if things are tough, and I am confident it will be very successful.”