The Befrienders is a British television

British television

Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...

 series produced by the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 in 1972.

The series dealt with the work of the Samaritans

Samaritans (charity)

Samaritans is a registered charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in emotional distress or at risk of suicide throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, often through their telephone helpline. The name comes from the Biblical parable of the Good Samaritan, though the organisation...

 organisation, and the individual cases its staff came across. The leading cast members were Megs Jenkins

Megs Jenkins

Muguette Mary "Megs" Jenkins was an English character actress who appeared in British films and television programmes.-Life and career:...

 and Michael Culver

Michael Culver

Michael Culver is an English actor.He was born in Hampstead, London, the son of actor Roland Culver and casting director Daphne Rye...

.

The Befrienders was first aired as a single play as part of the Drama Playhouse strand in 1970, which was followed by one series of eleven episodes.