Children in Need boss resigns days into the job after crashing into cyclist

A cyclist was left with serious injuries after a charity boss crashed his SUV into her on a village High Street.

The crash was caught on CCTV, showing a black BMW cutting a corner at a junction in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire, before it smashed into the cyclist.

Behind the wheel was Terry Duddy, 69, who was named as the chair of the BBC Children in Need charity months after the June crash.

The female cyclist, thought to be in her 50s, was sent flying into the air before landing on the road as another cyclist rushed to her aid on the village High Street.

Duddy, who is from Chalfont St Giles, was given an 18-month suspended sentence last Thursday.

He also has to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

Duddy is said to have confessed to the incident to his BBC bosses on Tuesday and announced he would step down, the Daily Mail reports.

His resignation was reportedly given the green light, and James Fairclough, a trustee for Children in Need, replaced him with immediate effect.

Duddy is reportedly also the chair of a welfare charity, Catch22, and London Marathon Events.

A spokesperson for Catch 22 said the charity was notified yesterday of Duddy’s conviction, and it is investigating ‘the implications of this for his role at Catch22.’

Thames Valley Police said as it released footage of the collision: ‘This is the moment a car being driven by Terrence Duddy, aged 69, in Chalfont St Giles on 21 June this year, hit a cyclist, a woman in her fifties, and caused her serious injuries.

‘The cyclist had right of way and a moment of carelessness from the driver, by not properly checking the road was clear to cross, has had a life changing impact on the cyclist.’

A total of 3,942 cyclists were seriously injured on UK roads in 2023, according to the latest available Department for Transport figures.

Another cyclist suffered minor injuries in a crash on the Chalfont St GilesHigh Street in June 2017.

Earlier this month, BBC’s director general Tim Davie and head of news, Deborah Turness, resigned after criticism over the editing of Donald Trump’s January 6 C speech during the Capitol riots used in a Panorama documentary.

Trump threatened to sue the BBC for a billion dollars if the broadcaster didn’t apologise by his deadline.

The corporation issued an apology for the edit giving ‘the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action,’ but it refused to pay compensation.

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