{"id":362160,"date":"2026-03-24T07:38:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T07:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/362160\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T07:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T07:38:09","slug":"former-bbc-broadcaster-huw-edwards-hits-out-furiously-at-tv-drama-about-his-downfall-for-grooming-teenage-boy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/362160\/","title":{"rendered":"Former BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards hits out furiously at TV drama about his downfall for grooming teenage boy"},"content":{"rendered":"

The one-off Channel 5 special, titled Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards, dramatises the events leading up to \u00adEdwards pleading guilty to making indecent images of children in 2024, with Martin Clunes playing the disgraced newsreader.<\/p>\n

In July 2023, it was reported by The Sun that a \u201ctop BBC star\u201d had paid a teenager for sexual images, with Edwards\u2019 wife naming him as the presenter in question shortly after.<\/p>\n

According to Edwards (64), Channel 5 and production company Wonderhood \u201cmade no attempt to check with me the truth of any aspect of their narrative\u201d before starting work on the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey belatedly asked for a response after the drama had been made, while reserving the right to edit any such response,\u201d Edwards said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Every image represents an innocent victim<\/p>\n

\u201cThey also refused to disclose \u00adwhether any of those making allegations had been paid for their contributions.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the drama, writer Mark Burt spoke to Edwards\u2019 anonymous victim, who was involved in every stage of the production.<\/p>\n

\"Martin<\/p>\n

Martin Clunes as Huw Edwards in ‘Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards’. Photo: PA<\/p>\n

Today’s News in 90 Seconds – Tuesday, March 24<\/p>\n

He based the script on \u201caffidavits and firsthand primary source materials\u201d provided by The Sun \u2013 including court documents that detailed Edwards\u2019 psychological reports and text messages.<\/p>\n

The 17-year-old \u2013 who remains anonymous \u2013 is given the fake name \u201cRyan Davies\u201d in the drama and is played by Osian Morgan. Edwards was never charged with a criminal offence in \u00adrelation to the victim of the grooming.<\/p>\n

However, Edwards\u2019 career ended abruptly in July 2024, when the 64-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 BBC.<\/p>\n

\"Huw<\/p>\n

Huw Edwards pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children (Lucy North\/PA)<\/p>\n

In his new statement, Edwards expressed his \u201cdeep regret and remorse for the crimes\u201d he committed, stating: \u201cIn pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity, I took full responsibility for my reprehensible actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also revealed he wants to produce his \u201cown account of these terrible events\u201d, but said \u201cthe fragile state of\u201d his mental health is making that \u201ca slow process\u201d.<\/p>\n

Edwards added that while mental illness \u201ccan never be an excuse for criminality\u201d, he believes \u201cit can at least help explain why people sometimes behave in shocking and reprehensible ways, and why things fell apart for me\u201d.<\/p>\n

Channel 5 said in response to Edwards\u2019 statement: \u201cPower: 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\u2019s Broadcasting Code.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll allegations made in the film were put to Huw Edwards via his solicitors six weeks before transmission.\u201d<\/p>\n

The drama airs on Channel 5 tonight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The one-off Channel 5 special, titled Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards, dramatises the events leading up to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362161,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[1578,321,93,61,60],"class_list":["post-362160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-bbc","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362160\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}