11 August 2023 , 21:47
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Alison Hammond admitted she is "disappointed" in herself after she let down an 8-year-old boy by not attending his charity walk.
The This Morning star was confronted by double amputee Tony Hudgell on Friday when he asked why she didn't attend. The young boy appeared on the ITV show after he completed an impressive sponsored walk to the summit of Orrest Head in the Lake District - where he raised over £19,000 for charity.
Alison and Josie Gibson were set to commend Tony, but instead, he asked the Birmingham star: “When I needed you, you weren’t there!” He had been hoping Alison would be there to cheer him on after he appeared on This Morning a month earlier to talk about his challenge. Alison then had to confess: “I was recording an episode of Bake Off and I couldn’t make it, but next time I will be there.”
Alison is 'disappointed' she broke her promise to Tony (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)“But I am sorry I couldn’t be there I am disappointed in myself I couldn’t be there and everyone is disappointed I couldn’t be there. I’m sure everyone is disappointed I wasn’t there but you did it. You did it on everyone’s behalf and I’m so proud of you.” To make it up to Tony, Alison said she would donate £500 to his fundraising campaign. It was Tony’s first fundraiser since his 2020 walk in aid of London’s Evelina Hospital, where doctors saved his life after he suffered appalling abuse at the hands of his biological parents.
Smith and Jody Simpson, 29 – Tony’s birth parents – hurt him so badly when he was a baby that he had to have both legs amputated. He suffered eight fractures to his legs and later developed life-threatening septicaemia in 2014, which lead to the loss of both his legs. As well as causing the injuries themselves, which included fractures to both thighbones, both lower legs, the right lower leg and ankle, dislocations and blunt trauma to his face leading to organ failure, his parents also failed to seek medical care for his injuries for 10 days.
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The pair were due to be released last August after serving half of their 10-year jail sentences. But former Justice SecretaryDominic Raabused new laws to halt their release. Although Simpson was freed in February, the Parole Board decided to keep Smith in jail after finding his “reckless and impulsive” behaviour meant there was a risk he could re-offend.
Adoptive mum Paula Hudgell gave Tony a home with her husband Mark and eight older children, and Tony has thrived. The incredible Pride of Britain winner was greeted at the top of 780ft Orrest Head by mountaineering legend Sir Chris Bonington, 89, and Hari Budha Magar, a double amputee who recently scaled Everest. Nepalese Hari, 44, who lost his limbs in a blast in Afghanistan in 2010, told Tony: “You were so fast I couldn’t catch you up. You were amazing.”
After he got to the top of the fell, Paula, 56, of West Malling, Kent, said: “We are so incredibly proud, not just of his determination and resilience, but also his desire to help others. Nothing deters him, he attempts everything, he’s just an incredible little boy. I reckon we could climb probably the highest mountain now. It might have started something.”