Doc Martin star Martin Clunes is to play shamed BBC presenter Huw Edwards in a new two-part drama which will portray his ‘double life’ and how the scandal unfolded
Doc Martin’s Martin Clunes is set to portray disgraced BBC presenter Huw Edwards in a forthcoming drama chronicling his spectacular fall from grace.
The two-part series, commissioned by Channel 5, will reportedly explore the newsreader’s “double life” and detail how the scandal erupted. The programme promises to deliver a “complex, emotional and nuanced portrait, revealing how the grooming of a vulnerable 17-year old over many months led to Edwards’ downfall, disgrace and the end of his life in the public eye.”
Ben Frow, Channel 5’s chief content officer, commented: “This is an important and shocking story of how a man in a position of power and trust betrayed that status.”
Edwards ranked amongst the BBC’s most handsomely remunerated newsreaders, having fronted the corporation’s News at Ten for decades and famously breaking the news of Queen Elizabeth II’s death, reports the Mirror.
However, his reputation crumbled following a 2023 newspaper exposé claiming a “top BBC Star” had handed over £35,000 to a teenager for explicit images.
Within days, his wife publicly identified him as the presenter embroiled in the controversy, and the newsreader subsequently stepped down from his role.
The young person central to the scandal later revealed to the Mirror how the broadcaster had exploited him, stating: “I want to tell the truth about what happened… I’ve stayed silent for so long to protect Huw, but I feel sick at what has happened.”
The man, who was then 21-years-old, said he felt like Edwards “groomed” him. The man told the Mirror: “Although it was a friendship at the beginning, it did change. He would say things like, ‘Are you going to do something for me then?’ I needed help, so I did. I feel like he sort of fed on my vulnerability… as he knew I needed the money. I felt like I was being groomed.”
The young man acknowledged sending explicit messages and videos at the time. He continued: “Because of who he was as a BBC presenter and because he had such power… I felt like i trusted him and that he cared. But that’s how the manipulation started. I looked up to this man but he didn’t really care about me. I felt like he was taking advantage of me but I felt I had to listen to him because he was Huw Edwards.”
Edwards was subsequently charged in June 2024, following an unrelated Met Police investigation, not involving the young person. He admitted guilt to making indecent images of children and confessed to possessing 41 photographs on WhatsApp, including seven of the most serious category.
The drama is scheduled to broadcast in the coming months.
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