Robert Peston has paid tribute to Huw Edwards’ wife Vicky Flind after she revealed the BBC presenter is facing allegations over payments for sexually explicit images.
Flind, who produces his ITV show Peston, was applauded for her “immense strength” after she shared a statement on her husband’s behalf, revealing that he was receiving in-patient hospital care in the wake of the furore.
The current affairs presenter began Wednesday’s show by reading a pre-prepared statement about his former BBC colleague and Flind.
The 63-year-old said: “As a journalist I have spent more or less my entire career weighing up stories by whether they are truly in the public interest or just interesting to the public.
“This has been on my mind a lot, following the allegations in the Sun newspaper about a BBC presenter and a young person, and a relationship between them that their parents alleged was harmful and possibly illegal.
“Tonight we heard from the Met Police that it had found no evidence of criminality,” he added.
“Shortly afterwards Vicky Flind made a public statement that the presenter is her husband, one of the most famous presenters in the business Huw Edwards, with whom I worked very closely when I was at the BBC.
“What few of you will know is that Vicky Flind is the editor of this show, and the person who created it with me - though she hasn’t been involved tonight or at all this week,” he continued.
“The Labour MP Jess Phillips tonight described Vicky as the nicest, kindest and most decent woman.
“I and everyone who works with me here would agree. It has been difficult to feel what she and her family have been going through - and to read her statement that Huw has been hospitalised with acute depression.
“None of this is to comment on complaints that have been made against Huw - or indeed to answer the question of whether people and their families may have been hurt. I don’t know what Huw did, or why.
“The question however is whether - if it remains clear as the police say that no crime was committed - there was a public interest in publishing the original story and in the subsequent coverage.”
Flind is the Executive Editor of the midweek politics show having previously worked alongside her husband at the BBC, including This Week.
On Wednesday, she released a statement revealing that the father-of-five is “suffering from serious mental health issues” and is now receiving treatment in the wake of the allegations.
It read: “Huw is suffering from serious mental health issues. As is well documented, he has been treated for severe depression in recent years.
“The events of the last few days have greatly worsened matters, he has suffered another serious episode and is now receiving in-patient hospital care where he’ll stay for the foreseeable future.”
She said that once the presenter, who has worked for the BBC for four decades, is well enough, he “intends to respond to the stories that have been published” and added that her husband was first told there were allegations “being made against him last Thursday”.
She went on to ask for privacy for the family and said: “I know that Huw is deeply sorry that so many colleagues have been impacted by the recent media speculation.
“We hope this statement will bring that to an end.”
Edwards has previously spoken about his mental health, revealing in a documentary in 2021 that he has suffered bouts of depression which leave him “bedridden” since 2002.
Following the family statement, BBC Director-General Tim Davie said in a note to staff it is “important” that the work on the internal investigation continues, adding: “I want to be clear that in doing so we will follow due process.”
He also stressed that the corporation’s “immediate concern is our duty of care to all involved”.
The Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday that no criminal offence has been committed by the presenter, and that no specific details or information about further allegations reported in the media have been provided to them.
The presenter was last seen on BBC One’s News At Ten on July 5 when he co-presented a special edition live from Edinburgh as the King was honoured in the Scottish capital.
