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Former BBC presenter Huw Edwards has hit out at the new Channel 5 series depicting his downfall.
Martin Clunes, 64, who is best known for his role as the titular character in Doc Martin, will play Edwards in 5 drama Power: The Downfall Of Huw Edwards.
The newsreader admitted accessing indecent images of children as young as seven and received a six-month sentence suspended for two years in 2024.
Edwards has now issued a statement to the Daily Mail offering his ‘regret and remorse’ for his crimes and claimed the drama is ‘hardly likely to convey the reality of what happened’.
The publication adds that he is ‘furious’ about the upcoming drama.
The 64-year-old said: ‘[They] made no attempt to check with me the truth of any aspect of their narrative before going ahead with the production.
‘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.’
The statement added: ‘My deep regret and remorse for the crimes I committed were expressed in court. 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.’
Edwards said he plans to tell his side of the story, adding: ‘I am making an effort to produce my own account of these terrible events. This is a slow process given the fragile state of my health.
‘I have been open about my struggle with persistent mental illness over a period of 25 years. What is less well known is the severity of that condition, which was managed successfully until the downward spiral which led to an appalling outcome.
‘Mental illness is misunderstood by many but can never be an excuse for criminality.
‘It can, however, 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 a statement to Metro: ‘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.’
Speaking to Metro and other press at a screening of the drama, Clunes insisted we ‘don’t know the full story’ about disgraced Edwards.
‘I thought it was a challenge. Just the name Huw Edwards is a story. But I didn’t know the story until I read it,’ he said.
Questioning the audience in the screening room, he said: ‘Did anybody here know the whole story before you saw this afternoon? No, I don’t think anybody did.‘
He continued: ‘There was a lot of fudgery around it. First, they announced it was some presenter, and then all these people said, “It’s not me, it’s not me”. And then there was that sympathy for Huw Edwards, until they found what was on his phone.
‘I think maybe everybody had lost interest by that point, because the next bit of news had come along. Donald Trump had done something.’
Will you be watching Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards?
Edwards was one of the BBC’s highest-paid newsreaders, known for presenting the BBC’s News At Ten for decades, delivering some of the biggest stories to the British public, including the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
He pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children in July 2024.
Edwards’ downfall came after a report by the Sun in July 2023 alleged that a ‘top BBC star’ had paid a teenager for sexual pictures.
Days later, his wife named him as the presenter at the centre of the scandal. He was charged in June 2024, after a Met Police investigation.
A month later, Edwards pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children and admitted to having 41 photographs on WhatsApp, including seven of the most serious type.
Power: The Downfall Of Huw Edwards will air Tuesday March 24 at 9pm on 5.
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