Terry Duddy, the recently appointed chair of BBC Children in Need, has resigned from his position after being convicted of causing serious injury through careless driving.
In a message this morning to staff, outgoing chief executive Simon Antrobus said Duddy informed the charity of his conviction yesterday and offered his resignation, which the board accepted.
According to the message, seen by Civil Society, Duddy was convicted of the offence last week and agreed with the charity’s board that he could not continue in the role.
“I recognise this will be a surprise but I want to reassure you all that we remain in a strong and stable position, and we remain focused on helping children and young people thrive,” Antrobus said in the message.
Duddy had been in post for less than a month and will be succeeded by Children in Need trustee James Fairclough, who has now been formally appointed as chair.
“James brings extensive leadership and commercial expertise and is passionate about making a lasting impact on young lives,” said Antrobus.
Duddy, who has led major UK retailers including Argos, is also currently chair of welfare charity Catch22 and of London Marathon Events (LME), where he also serves as a trustee of its foundation.
A spokesperson for Catch22 told Civil Society the charity was aware of the conviction and is “assessing what this means for his role as a matter of urgency”.
Civil Society has asked LME to comment.
