Huw Edwards has furiously hit out at a new Channel 5 factual drama exploring his grooming of a 17-year-old, claiming it is “hardly likely to convey the reality of what happened”.
The one-off special, titled Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards, dramatises the events leading up to Edwards pleading guilty to making indecent images of children in 2024, with Martin Clunes playing the disgraced newsreader.
In July 2023, it was reported by The Sun that a “top BBC star” had paid a teenager for sexual images, with Edwards’ wife naming him as the presenter shortly after.
According to Edwards, 64, Channel 5 and production company Wonderhood “made no attempt to check with me the truth of any aspect of their narrative” before starting work on the project.
“They belatedly asked for a response after the drama had been made, while reserving the right to edit any such response,” Edwards added in a statement shared with the Daily Mail.
“They also refused to disclose whether any of those making allegations had been paid for their contributions.”
For the drama, writer Mark Burt spoke to Edwards’ anonymous victim, who was involved in every stage of the production.
He based the script on “affidavits and firsthand primary source materials” provided by The Sun – including court documents that detailed Edwards’ psychological reports and text messages.
The 17-year-old – who remains anonymous – is given the fake name “Ryan Davies” in the drama and is played by former Emmerdale actor Osian Morgan. Edwards was never charged with a criminal offence in relation to the victim of the grooming.
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.
In his new statement, Edwards expressed his “deep regret and remorse for the crimes” he committed, stating: ”In pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity, I took full responsibility for my reprehensible actions.
“I am repelled by the idea that some people enjoy viewing indecent images of children. Every image represents an innocent victim. I offer my sincere and profound apologies for what I did.”
He also revealed he wants to produce his “own account of these terrible events”, but said “the fragile state of” his mental health is making that “a slow process”.
Edwards added that while mental illness “can never be an excuse for criminality”, he believes “it can at least help explain why people sometimes behave in shocking and reprehensible ways, and why things fell apart for me in the way they did”.
Channel 5 said in response to Edwards’ statement: “Power: The Downfall Of Huw Edwards is based on extensive interviews with the victim, his family, the journalists who revealed his story, text exchanges between the victim and Edwards, and court reporting. It has been produced in accordance with Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code.
“All allegations made in the film were put to Huw Edwards via his solicitors six weeks before transmission.”
The drama screens on Channel 5 on Tuesday 24 March.
