Terry Wogan pulls out of Children in Need Appeal for health reasons

FOR the first time since its inception in 1980 Terry Wogan will not be presenting Children in Need this year after ‘health reasons’ led to him stepping down.

Wogan, 77, is having a procedure on his back and has followed doctors’ orders to withdraw from presenting the six and a half hour long show on Friday November 13.

The legendary presenter said he’d miss ‘our wonderful, inspiring evening’ and that he would certainly be ‘watching, cheering and donating’.

A spokesman for the BBC said, “We are so sorry that Terry won’t be with us tomorrow night as we know how passionate he is about Children in Need.”

“We wish him a very speedy recovery and know he’ll be watching from home and enjoying the show,” he added.

Dermot O’Leary will now be the host for Friday’s show and he will have support from other presenters Tess Daly, Nick Grimshaw and Fearne Cotton.

Children in Need has raised over £790 million (€1.11 billion) since it was launched.

“The British public, as always, will dig deep in their pockets and purses to help the country’s disadvantaged children, knowing that every penny will go to those who need it most,” Wogan said.