Bell-ringer, as it were, meeting terrible doom (9)
I believe the answer is:
quasimodo
'bell-ringer' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'as it were meeting terrible doom' is the wordplay.
'as it were' becomes 'quasi' (prefix meaning 'almost' or 'seemingly').
'meeting' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'terrible' indicates an anagram.
'doom' is an anagram of 'modo'.
'quasi'+'modo'='QUASIMODO'
(Other definitions for quasimodo that I've seen before include "Sunday after Easter" , "Fictional hunchback" , "bell ringer" , "crooked character" , "Hunchback of Notre-Dame" .)