Disgraced BBC News anchor Huw Edwards, who in 2024 was convicted of making child sex abuse images, has slammed an upcoming Channel 5 docudrama depicting the scandal.
Wuthering Heights star Martin Clunes portrays Edwards in 5’s Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards. It chronicles the “true story” of the ex-broadcaster’s grooming of a 17-year-old boy (named Ryan in the drama to preserve the anonymity of his underage victim, and played by former Emmerdale star Osian Morgan) in the lead-up to his criminal conviction.
Wonderhood Studios, the producers behind the film which airs tonight (Tuesday, March 24) on 5, said at a London screening last week that they had based their film on reports, police files, and related paperwork, as well as speaking extensively with the victim, their family, and journalists at The Sun who first broke the news of Edwards’ grooming. A note at the end of the program — made to show the public “how grooming works and the insidiousness of grooming,” according to a 5 producer — states that the former BBC presenter declined to comment on the events depicted.
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Yesterday, Edwards told the Daily Mail in a statement that the producers had made “no attempt to check with me the truth of any aspect of their narrative before going ahead with the production.”
He added: “They belatedly asked for a response after the drama had been made, while reserving the right to edit any such response. They also refused to disclose whether any of those making allegations had been paid for their contributions. Channel 5’s ‘factual drama’ is hardly likely to convey the reality of what happened.”
He also noted that his “deep regret and remorse for the crimes committed were expressed in court,” adding that by 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.”
A 5 spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter in the wake of Edwards’ attack: “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.”
Edwards resigned from the BBC on medical grounds in April 2024, specifically referencing mental health struggles, three months before the then-62-year-old pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children. He was handed a six-month suspended sentence, completing an extraordinary fall from grace following a four-decade career at the corporation during which he was regularly among the corporations highest earners in recent years.
