Disgraced newsreader Huw Edwards will “state his case” in a new Channel 4 series, according to reports.
The news comes after it was claimed Edwards had enlisted a publicist and was reportedly planning a comeback after Britain’s one-time highest-paid news anchor pleaded guilty, in 2024, to receiving and making indecent images of children.
According to The Times, Channel 4 will air Edwards’s version of events, which one employee has allegedly described as “a desperate publicity stunt”. The channel is already facing criticism this week after allegations of rape made by Married at First Sight UK contestants.
The Independent has contacted Channel 4 for comment.
In March, Edwards put out a statement condemning a Channel 5 drama about the scandal, starring Martin Clunes, and shared that he planned to produce his “own account of these terrible events”.
To prepare for his reported return to show business, Edwards is working with publicist Barry Tomes, who has accepted the role on a volunteer basis.
Tomes, who has previously worked with The Beach Boys, Tony Christie and Alvin Stardust, appeared on Good Morning Britain in March, when he claimed that Edwards had already been planning his comeback until the Channel 5 drama “triggered” him to respond earlier.
“He said about six months ago, because I first spoke to him nine months ago, he definitely wants to tell his side of the story,” Tomes said. “That’s fair enough. Everybody is allowed to say their piece.”
Speaking to The Telegraph about a potential Edwards project, Tomes said: “If it were up to me, it would be a filmed documentary. It’s for Edwards to decide how he wants to do it.
“I’m 75 per cent certain he will do this because he’s adamant he needs to have his say. I think he wants to say it all, not just the juicy bits. He’ll speak from the heart. I don’t believe he should keep apologising, because it weakens it. I’m a great believer in ‘you don’t say you’re sorry, you show it’.
“I don’t want him to be on TV other than maybe an interview. He doesn’t want to be on Celebrity Big Brother, I’m a Celebrity or [involved with] anything that the papers are saying.”
Edwards resigned from the BBC on medical advice in April 2024, three months before the then-62-year-old pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children. He was handed a six-month suspended sentence, sealing an extraordinary fall from grace following a four-decade career at the corporation.
