WATCH: Cheryl becomes the new face of Childline
Calls to Childline are up 22% over the last three years.
Childline have announced that ex-Girls Aloud singer Cheryl will be their new campaigner.
This announcement comes as the children's charity celebrates their 30th year.
In her new role Cheryl appears in a new Childline campaign film which replaces her voice with that of young people talking about their problems, including a boy who is too scared to tell his dad he's gay and a teenage girl talking about being sexually abused at home.
WATCH: Voices ft. Cheryl | Childline »
Dame Esther Ranzen set up Childline in the 1980s and said, "We are really excited at the awareness that Cheryl will bring to the service, and in particular how she will enable us reach out to even more desperately unhappy young people with nowhere else to turn."
Cheryl’s involvement comes at a crucial time as new Childline figures show a 22% increase over the last three years in counselling sessions delivered for girls aged 12-18 suffering from mental health and wellbeing issues such as low self-esteem, depression and self-harm.
8,508 of these counselling sessions were carried out for teenage girls with suicidal feelings, a 28% increase over the same three-year period.
Speaking about her new role, Cheryl said, "Life can be hard sometimes, especially whilst you’re growing up, and everyone deserves someone to talk to and help make sense of it all. That is exactly what Childline is there to do; just listen and help. No young person should ever feel afraid, confused or alone so if that’s how you are feeling then please get in touch with them by phone or online."