Huw Edwards has issued a new statement vowing to challenge what he calls “misleading or fabricated claims” in recent coverage — and has hinted strongly at plans for his own documentary or podcast later this year.
The statement, released on Thursday, comes days after a Channel 5 drama about his downfall sparked fresh headlines. Edwards had already broken his silence last month to attack the programme, accusing its producers at Wonderhood Studios of failing to verify the truth of what was depicted.
In the new statement Edwards said: “Much has been written and reported in the past week following Channel 5’s one-sided account. Other opportunities will arise later this year for me to state my case and to challenge the misleading or fabricated claims made in recent coverage.”
He added: “A number of serious questions still remain to be answered and not just by me. It will now take some time for me to produce my own account and until then I do not intend to comment any further.”
It is understood Edwards is planning to create his own documentary or podcast about the events surrounding his downfall.
Edwards was one of the BBC’s highest-paid and most recognisable newsreaders, having fronted the News At Ten for decades, before pleading guilty in July 2024 to making indecent images of children. He received a six-month custodial sentence, suspended for two years. The case centred on his messaging a 17-year-old and paying for explicit photographs. The BBC learned of his arrest in November 2023 but Edwards remained employed for several months before resigning on medical grounds.
The Channel 5 drama Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards starred Martin Clunes and was based on extensive interviews with the victim, his family and the journalists who broke the story. Channel 5 said all allegations in the film were put to Edwards via his solicitors six weeks before broadcast and that it was produced in accordance with Ofcom’s broadcasting code.
The new statement came on the same day reports emerged that Edwards had liked a LinkedIn post expressing sympathy for Scott Mills, the BBC Radio 2 presenter who was axed by the corporation this week over a personal conduct allegation. According to The Telegraph, Edwards liked a post by crisis management specialist Lauren Beeching, who criticised the BBC’s handling of Mills’s departure, describing his situation as “atrocious” and “stressful.” The like appears to have since been removed.
Beeching had argued that the BBC’s decision to withhold specifics about the personal conduct behind Mills’s sacking had fuelled unfounded speculation, and that the resulting public scrutiny was “another level entirely” for the individual concerned.
Mills was terminated by the BBC for personal conduct issues. The Mirror has reported the dismissal followed historical allegations of serious sexual offences against a teenage boy, though the BBC has not confirmed whether those allegations played any role in the decision. The Metropolitan Police confirmed it received a referral concerning Mills in December 2016, questioned a man in his 40s in 2018, and the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to bring charges in 2019 citing insufficient evidence. No charges were ever brought.
The BBC said only: “While we do not comment on matters relating to individuals, we can confirm Scott Mills is no longer contracted to work with the BBC.”
Edwards’s apparent decision to weigh in — even obliquely, via a LinkedIn like — on a controversy involving another BBC presenter facing conduct allegations drew immediate attention given the nature of his own conviction.
