The first look at Martin Clunes as disgraced BBC presenter Huw Edwards in a game-changing new Channel 5 drama has been unveiled.
Doc Martin and Wuthering Heights actor Clunes will play the figure in a one-off special, Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards, which will explore how British television’s most famous newsreaders, who announced the death of the Queen, became embroiled in a major BBC scandal.
Edwards’s 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 corporation.
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The new show is based on extensive factual research from those at the heart of the scandal, with Ben Frow, chief content officer at Channel 5, calling it “a first for the channel”.
He continued: “This is an important and shocking story of how a man in a position of power and trust betrayed that status.
“By gaining exclusive access to the key individuals involved and those who investigated the story, we explore the human cost behind the headlines.”
Edwards’ downfall began in July 2023 following a report by The Sun alleging a “top BBC Star” had paid a teenager for sexual pictures. Days later, his wife publicly named him as the presenter at the centre of the allegations, leading to his resignation in April on medical advice. He was subsequently charged in June 2024 after a Metropolitan Police investigation.
A month later, Edwards admitted guilt to making indecent images of children, confirming he possessed 41 photographs on WhatsApp, including seven classified as the most serious type.
The BBC said it was told in November 2023, when Edwards was suspended, that he had been arrested on “suspicion of serious offences”, five months before he resigned from the corporation in April.
In a statement, the broadcaster claimed Edwards would have been dismissed “immediately” if he were charged while still an employee at the corporation.
Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards will air soon on Channel 5.
Additional reporting by agencies
