Presidents, patrons and ambassadors

Sports Anchor, Podcaster and Author, Gabby Logan MBE has been our president since 2018. She is a fantastic public face of our work and an invaluable representative of the charity, meeting families, helping to raise important funds, and supporting numerous charity events.

The role of President was created when the charity was founded in 1959. Since then, all our retiring Presidents have been given the title of Honorary Life President to recognise their years of commitment to our cause.  

Sue Barker CBE 

Professor Martin Bobrow CBE FRS FMed Sci 

The late Lord Richard Attenborough CBE  

The late J Alexander Patrick CBE DL 

The late Lord John Walton of Detchant 

We are incredibly grateful to this outstanding group of people for leading Muscular Dystrophy UK across our history.  

Our Patrons have been fully committed to the charity over many years and continue to champion our cause.  

Michael and Karen Attenborough

Michael and Karen are long-term supporters of ours, having learned about our work from Michael’s father, the Late Lord Richard Attenborough. Michael has fond memories of his father’s lifelong support of the charity, which included introducing the charity to the Late HRH Prince Philip. Michael and Karen continue to raise the profile of the charity amongst their network and are heavily involved in our President’s Awards. They both enjoy attending our events and spending time with our community. 

Ian Corner 

Ian has been a prolific fundraiser and supporter of Muscular Dystrophy UK since the mid-1990s. Ian formed a Manchester committee called Friends of Muscular Dystrophy, which held an annual sports dinner in the city, raising up to £30,000. Ian was formerly the manager of the Thistle Hotel in Manchester, which enabled him to develop a terrific network of friends and supporters, including Sir Alex Ferguson, who became a Vice President of the charity as a result. Over the years, Ian has contributed more than half a million pounds to Muscular Dystrophy UK and continues to support us today. 

Professor Alan E. H. Emery

Emeritus Professor Alan E. H. Emery is a specialist in medical genetics with a special interest in muscle disease. Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy is named after Professor Emery and American neurologist Fritz Dreifuss, who first described the condition in the 1960s. Professor Emery was also instrumental in setting up the European Neuromuscular Centre (ENMC), the hugely successful organisation encouraging collaboration amongst researchers worldwide. 

Bill Ronald

Bill Ronald was Chairman of Muscular Dystrophy UK from September 2010 – September 2016. Bill’s involvement with the charity stems from having a young nephew with muscular dystrophy and his desire to make a difference. Bill has a sales and marketing background, having spent 23 years in various roles at Mars, including Managing Director of the UK confectionery operation. Since leaving Mars, he has been Chief Executive Officer of Uniq and held non-executive roles in Bezier, Halfords, Alfesca, Dialight, Compleat Food Group, Fox International and Fever-Tree, where he was Non-Executive Chairman.  

Keith Rushton

Keith joined the charity, alongside his wife Joan, in 1974 when his son was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. His son passed away in 1986. Through his work in the electronics industry, Keith was able to help researchers develop equipment for Hammersmith and other muscle centres. He became a Trustee of the charity in 1976 and Chair of the Management Committee in 1994. He and Joan remain committed to the charity.   

Remembering HRH Prince Philip 

Prince Philip became Patron of ours in 1966 and was a cherished supporter for over five decades. Throughout his tenure, he demonstrated unwavering dedication to our cause and contributed significantly to raising awareness and support for our research and advocacy efforts. Since his passing in 2021 his legacy of compassion and commitment continues to inspire us.  

Vice President is an honorary position offered to our most committed and influential supporters. They are an active group of campaigners, fundraisers and ambassadors who continue to work hard to raise the charity’s profile and income by encouraging others to support us.  

Anil Ahir 

Sophia Bergqvist 

Frances Carey 

Jeremy Champion 

Candida Crewe 

Charity Crewe 

Sebastian Crewe 

Victoria Elliston 

Sir Alex Ferguson CBE 

Andrew Graham 

Bernie Henderson 

Louisa Hill 

Tim Lumsdon 

Simon Knights 

Charles G Manby MBE 

Nicola Manby 

Andy Martin 

Ian Mathieson 

Ann McNeil 

Jeremy D Pelczer 

Julian Pritchard 

Michael A Thirkettle 

Baroness Celia Thomas of Winchester MBE 

Robert Warner 

Alex Wellesley Wesley 

Sir Guy Weston 

Our Research Vice Presidents are experts in their field and committed to the muscular dystrophy community. 

Professor Kate Bushby M.D. 

Professor Patrick Chinnery FRCP FMedSci 

Professor Dame Kay E Davies DBE FRS FMed Sci 

Dr David Hilton-Jones MA MD FRCP FRCPE 

Professor Darren Monckton PhD 

Professor Francesco Muntoni FRCPCH FMed Sci 

Doctor Rosaline Quinlivan  

Professor Mary Reilly 

Professor Volker Straub 

Professor Douglas M Turnbull MBBS (Hons), MD, PhD, FRCP 

Professor Matthew Wood MBChB MA DPhil 

Our ambassadors use their public platform, influence, and personal connections to attract attention to the cause, encourage donations, and inspire others to get involved. 

Chloe Ball Hopkins  

Journalist Chloe Ball Hopkins is a powerful advocate for disability rights and has worked with ASOS to design wheelchair-friendly clothing. Chloe was also a Paralympian in archery before picking up a shoulder injury. 

Sir Alex Ferguson CBE 

Sir Alex was introduced to our work via his friend, and our Patron, Ian Corner. Now a Vice President of the charity, Sir Alex has attended events and held fundraising dinners on our behalf. 

Ollie Hynd MBE 

Gold-medal-winning Paralympic swimmer Ollie Hynd has been our ambassador since 2012. Ollie lives with neuromuscular myopathy. He has offered advice and encouragement for other young people affected by muscle wasting and weakening conditions who are interested in getting involved in sport. 

Peter and Stephen McGuire 

Paralympic GB Boccia players Peter and Stephen McGuire are dedicated to fundraising for us and raising awareness of muscle wasting conditions. They are both living with an undiagnosed form of muscular dystrophy. They feel passionately about helping young people with muscle wasting conditions get the equipment they need to be independent and to thrive. 

Monty Panesar 

Monty enjoyed a successful English international cricketer who remains passionate about the game. He made his Test cricket debut in 2006 against India in Nagpur and One Day International debut for England in 2007. Monty has been an active Ambassador of ours since 2019 after being inspired to help the charity following his appearance at our 2018 Celebrity Sports Quiz. 

Jon Richardson 

Comedian Jon has been a supporter of the charity for several years due to his friendship of Martin Hywood whose family fund ’Hywood’s Heroes’, raise significant funds for the charity. In 2021, Jon fronted our BBC Radio 4 Appeal and hosted a comedy night at the Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury which was a huge success. Jon has furthered his support creating videos for our Double Your Donation campaign and participating in the BGC Charity Day. 

Gordon Smith 

Gordon Smith has been a professional footballer, Chief Executive of the Scottish Football Association, a BBC Football and Scottish Match of the Day pundit, and Sunday Post columnist. He lends his valuable support to our fundraising events in Scotland and helps to raise awareness of our work. 

Jordon Young 

Jordon is a Scottish television, film and stage actor best known for his regular role in soap drama River City. Jordon became an ambassador of ours in 2019 after attending the Scottish Question of Support event, he is passionate about helping the charity due to a family connection with the condition having sadly lost two uncles to muscular dystrophy. 

Jack Wilshere  

West Ham United and England footballer Jack Wilshere has been an ambassador since 2015. Jack got involved with the charity after meeting our supporter and Arsenal fan Archie Hill.