{"id":343662,"date":"2026-03-23T12:18:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T12:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/343662\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T12:18:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T12:18:14","slug":"huw-edwards-hits-out-at-channel-5-drama-about-newsreaders-downfall-in-angry-statement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/343662\/","title":{"rendered":"Huw Edwards hits out at Channel 5 drama about newsreader\u2019s downfall in angry statement"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Huw Edwards<\/a> has furiously hit out at a new Channel 5<\/a> factual drama exploring his grooming of a 17-year-old, claiming it is \u201chardly likely to convey the reality of what happened\u201d.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThey also refused to disclose whether 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

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

\"MartinMartin Clunes plays Huw Edwards in new Channel 5 drama (Channel 5\/ITV)<\/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 former Emmerdale actor Osian Morgan. Edwards was never charged with a criminal offence in relation to the victim of the grooming.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>, sealing an extraordinary fall from grace following a four-decade career at the corporation.<\/p>\n

In his new statement, Edwards expressed his \u201cdeep regret and remorse for the crimes\u201d he committed, stating: \u201dIn 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 in the way they did\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 screens on Channel 5 on Tuesday 24 March.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":343663,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,111,139,69,437],"class_list":["post-343662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343662\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/343663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}